The Mistaken Gift: Book 1
by SoulWavelength
Summary: Fourteen year old Mia Denery recently escaped her father, and is now going starting at Hogwarts in her third year. Mia is enjoying life at Hogwarts with friends, enemies and a love life? But she finds her 'gift' of immense power spiraling out of control.
1. Chapter 1

_I do not own Harry Potter. The owner of all characters -except Mia- is J.K. Rowling as are the majority of the ideas._

"You're a waste of space, nothing more. I should have just killed you the second you were born." He snarled, venom dripping from his voice. I cowered away from him, my back pressed against the cool concrete wall. He laughed at my fear, clearly enjoying every moment of my torture while I sat there in complete silence, praying that it would end soon. "Pathetic girl. You deserve what your about to get." With a quick movement he whipped out his wand, raising it threatening at me, my mind recognizing what was about to come. "_Crucio._"

I writhed in pain on the cold damp ground, mangled screams tearing their way out of my lungs. He continued the curse, a twisted grin of pure enjoyment painted on his face every second of it. Reluctantly he lowered his wand, ending the curse.

"Father... Father please..." I pleaded my voice weak and strained. He just stared at me, pure disgust filling in his eyes.

"Don't you dare call me that!" He roared, raising his want once again. "_Crucio._"

He held the spell for five minutes before ending it, trying to avoid killing me. Without me he wouldn't have his entertainment, his offering, or his slave. When I wasn't being tortured, I either found myself cooking, cleaning or locked in the dark basement. I haven't even seen the sun in years.

"Be grateful I showed you mercy _girl_." He spat, that same look of disgust once again taking over his features.

"T-thank you sir." I thanked, bowing my head to him. Bringing his hand back, he slapped me across the face, a loud crack resonating throughout the basement. I crumpled to the ground, clutching my red cheek, my skin still on fire from the sudden and harsh contact.

He merely frowned and strode out of the basement, slamming the thick concrete door closed, locking it.

For hours I just sat there, leaning against the wall, sobbing silently into my shaking hands.

There was pure nothingness.

No noise, no light, not happiness.

Just darkness. A cruel darkness that envelopes you, stealing away all your joy and happiness. Like a dementor would.

I heard a loud crash from upstairs, the old door being broken off its hinges.

A thunderous stampede of footsteps crashed upstairs, rushing into the living room above me. Voices drifted through the walls and into my ears, giving me a flicker of hope that I prayed wasn't false.

"Where is she? We know that you're hiding her here." A calm voice asked my father, obviously talking about me. I felt the urge to scream out, but I knew that my screams would go completely unheard.

"I have no clue what you're talking about." My father replied in a steady voice, something he usually doesn't have right after a torture session.

"We know that she is here." The voice repeated with a hint of annoyance this time. They were starting to get impatient.

Finally! Somebody was here to help me!

"I'm down here!" I attempted my voice hoarse and barely audible. "I'm down here!" This time there was a bit more volume, but not enough. I sucked in a deep air of breath in preparation. "I'm down here!" I screamed.

A rush of footsteps made their way down the stairs and towards the basement, shoving the door opened. My father's face then entered my vision and I felt fear boil up inside me, seeing him with his want raised.

"You! _Avada Kedavra!_" He yelled and I saw the green light flash in front of me, along with a green ray of raw magic snaking its way towards me.

I readied myself for death but I felt no impact. Instead, I felt a tingle travel throughout my body, traveling into my fingertips and rush out of me. Last thing I saw was the green light and ray of power bouncing off some sort of barrier and hit my father, throwing him against the wall with a sickening crunch. Then I blacked out.

...***...

"I think that she may be waking up!" A voice shouted in excitement, the volume causing me to cringe. I opened my eyes and saw him turn to face me, an apologetic smile on his face. "Oh, sorry about that."

"No problem." I croaked, my vision slightly blurry. "W-who are you? And where the heck am I?"

"My name's Remus Lupin. This is St. Mungo's." He said and gestured to the room around me. When he noticed my confused expression he smiled and added, "the wizarding hospital."

I nodded slightly and closed my eyes again. I still felt rather tired, my eyes drooping closed.

For the next couple hours I found myself drifting in and out of consciousness, my ears catching snippets of conversation for the brief seconds I was awake for.

When I finally found myself awake for good, I opened my eyes again, taking in my surroundings. The room overall was rather plain with basic white walls, white bed sheets and white tiled floors. The only slight splashes of colour were the lovely flowers that were on my bedside table. Who would send me flowers though?

"Finally awake for good now?" A voice mused, a different one from before.

"Y-yes, I think so." I smiled slightly, the realization of not being at my father's house anymore hitting me. I opened my eyes and looked at the person sitting beside me. She was a young-looking girl, no older than 25. She had short purple hair, matching purple eyes and clear olive coloured skin.

I was free! Free of him! Free of that horrible life!

"No need to be scared hun. We're not going to hurt you." She said softly, placing a gently hand on my arm. I flinched away slightly but gave her an apologetic smile. "Don't be sorry, we know what your father has been doing to you."

I smiled at her, my first smile in at least a year.

"You should smile more often, you have a lovely smile." She complimented, chuckling lightly. My smile grew larger and I felt warm tears of joy slide down my cheeks.

"Thanks. I-I've never been complimented before..." I admitted, looking down at my hands.

We talked for another five minutes before the nurse barged in and ushered the young woman out of the room, saying that I needed my rest, even though I didn't feel at all tired. I told her over and over, but she just ignored me, pretending that I didn't say a thing.

She just smiled at me and gave me a dismissive wave of the hand, telling me that I should at least close my eyes. I frowned but reluctantly agreed, knowing that I really didn't get much of a choice. Even though I didn't actually sleep it did feel nice to just close my eyes and relax.

For a while I lay there in silence. It felt surprisingly nice, just sitting there, not moving.

A couple people came in and gave me flowers while others just murmured comforting words to me.

It was nice to finally be shown kindness, but something inside me didn't like the feeling of being pitied. It didn't sit well with me.

"Miss Denery? Might you be awake?" An older man asked as he walked in. I opened my eyes and nodded, a small smile playing upon my lips.

"Yes. May I ask who you are?" I inquired, feeling rather bold. The old man smiled as well, his long white beard portraying his immense age.

"My name's Albus Dumbledore. I would like to ask you if you would like to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"I-I'd love to. But... but I don't know any magic, and I don't have any money."

"Those two things are of no problem. The school has more than enough money to pay for you school supplies and robes, and some muggles clothing."

I was shocked. I just nodded, not trusting my voice. If I tried to say something, I had a feeling everything would come out as a squeak.

"Good. You should be healed by tomorrow, and then you will be released from the hospital. Once you are you will be staying at the Leaky Cauldron for the remaining three and a half weeks before the start of term. You will be given permission to use as much of the schools funds as you please, but refrain from going overboard." He said with a wink, his eyes twinkling. I giggled and nodded, completely overjoyed.

"I promise." I swore, placing a hand over my heart with a laugh.

I felt a large yawn work its way through my body and I opened my mouth wide.

"Why don't you rest. You've been through quiet a lot, and you likely need to get some more sleep." He suggested, giving me a friendly smile before walking back out of the door.

...***...

I looked down at the paper Dumbledore had given me, reading the directions over again for the fifth time. He told me that it would be one of the first things I saw when I entered Diagon Alley, but I couldn't see a sign anywhere. I groaned in frustration, looking around frantically.

It seemed like I had walked around the entire place at least three times without seeing anything.

Finally I just gave up and began walking around Diagon Alley aimlessly, hoping that I might just stumble across it. I gazed at everything with curious and wonder filled eyes, a whole new world being introduced to me.

I turned a corner, but found myself landing on the ground, a sharp pain blossoming in my butt.

"Sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going." A boy apologized from in front of me.

"Don't worry about it." I said, rubbing my butt. "Hey, do you mind showing me to the Leaky Cauldron? I've been trying to find it for hours."

"Yeah, sure! It's this way." He replied, holding his hand out for me to grab. I hesitated slightly before accepting his hand and allowing him to help me up.

"Thanks. I'm sort of new." I said sheepishly. He merely grinned and shrugged.

"No problem. Are you going to be going to Hogwarts?" He asked, trying to make conversation.

"Yep. I think I'm going into the third year." I replied, running my hands through my thin, waist length blond hair. He nodded and we walked in silence for a while, neither one of us feeling the need to talk. I was use to silence, so for me it didn't really feel that awkward.

It only took about five minutes to walk there, and I face-palmed when I saw it. I had passed it each time, completely ignorant of the rather large sign.

"I swear I passed this place three times." I mumbled, shaking my head. He chuckled and led me in, holding the door open for me.

We approached the small front desk, looking around at the rather empty bar. I knocked on the desk, looking around for any sign of life.

An older looking man hurried over right away, smiling.

"Hi! How can I help you?" He asked, looking at me.

"Uh, hi. I think I have a reservation here." I said, unsure. He checked the book in front of him and looked back up at me.

"Dumbledore told me about you! Miss Mia Denery?" He asked and I nodded. Coming out from the desk he led me through the place and to a room, motioning to it. "This is your room, room 12. Enjoy your stay!"

"Thanks." I said, opening the door with the small key he gave me. It revealed a decent sized room. It had a single bed with yellow duvet covers, a wooden desk, stained wooden floors, and a window. It was nice considering that it was completely my own. I smiled to myself and opened the door, the boy waiting for me outside. "Hey, thanks for waiting. By the way, what's your name?"

"Harry, Harry Potter. You mean you didn't recognize me?" He asked, slightly confused. I shuddered at the memory, hearing my father talk about how he was Voldemorts downfall and that he would die for it one of these days.

"I recognize your name, but my father kept me in the dark for the most part." I said. I attempted a smile but something tells me that it came out looking more like a grimace. He shrugged and nodded and we walked back downstairs, sitting down in front of the fire.

I glanced at the clock in front of me and felt my stomach growl involuntarily. Groaning I leaned back and rubbed my stomach. I still needed money!

"Are you hungry?" He asked, looking at me slightly concerned. I grinned sheepishly and nodded.

"Yeah, but I don't have any money to buy food yet." I explained. He just waved a hand and told me he'd pay for it, so I shrugged, telling him I'd pay him back later.

It was a nice quiet dinner. We were enjoying a rather enjoyable conversation where we were taking turns adding a word to create a story when Harry hid behind me, staring at the door. A rather portly man waddled in wearing a black suit and tie, glancing around the room.

"What are you hiding from?" I whispered, glancing behind me at Harry.

"That man. He's the Minister of Magic, and he's been following me around trying to talk to me." He replied, staring at him. I snorted out a laugh and shook my head. Why he was running away from the Minister of Magic is something I'd definitely be asking him about later.

The man continued searching the room before throwing his hands in the air in exasperation before storming out. Harry laughed at the display of anger before returning to his meal. Sadly we didn't finish the story, but instead moved on to the topic of Hogwarts.

"So what year are you in?" I asked him. Dumbledore had told me that I was going to be in third year and I hoped Harry was going to be.

"Third year." He said with pride. I cheered silently, thanking the faiths. This was definitely going to be fun. "My two friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger are going to be in third year as well. I think that you're going to get along with them really well!"

I grinned and nodded enthusiastically, finishing my food quickly. When I finished I stared longingly at the now empty plate.

Father only ever gave me tiny portions that barely sustained me. Most of the time it was a piece of bread and half a glass of water twice a day, making me unhealthily thin and bony. After we finished we walked out and wandered around. I just nodded absentmindedly, not really paying attention to the conversation that was there. My thoughts lingered on what happened with father. Nothing can repel the death curse, nothing, and yet something did. Something stopped it from hitting me and I have no clue what!

"Hello! Earth to Mia!" Harry said, waving a hand in front of my grey eyes. I snapped back to reality and glanced at him, his expression worried. "Something wrong?"

He reached out to touch my arm but I flinched involuntarily.

"Nothing's wrong." I said with a fake smile plastered on my face. He saw right through it, but didn't question it. He too had been through a lot so he could understand exactly how I was feeling. I just wasn't ready to share yet. I've barely known him for a day, but I still felt comfortable near him, but not comfortable enough.

He understood too that I just wasn't ready, but that I would tell him eventually.

…***…

A/N: So what do you guys think?

Tell me if you think that I should either keep going, or just stop.

Oh and tell me if you think it's going too fast. I think it may be, but I'm not completely sure ;D


	2. Chapter 2

_I do not own Harry Potter. _

...*******...

"Ow!" I yelped as the tailor poked me with the needle yet again. She gave me a small, apologetic smile before continuing on with her work as if nothing had happened.

At the moment I was standing in Madam Malkin`s robe shop, rooted to the exact same spot as I had been for an hour and a half. Harry was off doing something. I think he was getting some clothes that would actually fit him decently instead of those shirts that resembled a dress on him.

That reminded me, I needed to go shopping for some clothes myself.

At the moment I owned two shirts and a single pair of short which were on the verge of ripping.

"All right deary, you're all done." She said with a kind smile and twinkling eyes. I nodded and stretched out, feeling rather stiff. She led me over to the cash register at the front desk so that she could ring up the new uniform. "So that`ll be 7 Galleons and five Sickles please Miss Denery."

I handed her the Galleons out of my bag filled with the large golden coins and walked out the door. Earlier that day we had gone to Gringotts so that I could get some money out of the Hogwarts vault.

...*******...

_"So where do you want to go first?" Harry asked, shoving his hands deep into his pockets. I shrugged but stopped for a second._

_"Wait, I still need money!" I exclaimed with a loud groan. "I think Dumbledore gave me a hand written note saying that I have complete access to it." I muttered, reaching into my small bag that I had found underneath my bed one night. It was just a simple bag on the outside, but on the inside it had a special charm so that it could fit anything on it. All you had to do was think about the item you want, stick your hand in, and it will instantly appear in your hand._

_I pulled my hand out and revealed a small note on parchment with this scrawled on it: _Miss Mia Denery is hereby granted complete access to the Hogwarts vault number 208 at Gringotts Wizarding Bank.

_It also included a small signature on the very bottom that verified that it was indeed Dumbledore`s writing. Harry just shrugged and led the way through the cobblestone streets of Diagon Alley to the very large and grand bank. _

_"That?" I asked, pointing at the large building in disbelief. He just chuckled and grabbed my wrist, dragging me inside._

_I sort of hid behind Harry the entire time. The goblins creeped me out._

_"Calm down Mia. They`re not going to do anything!" He laughed, pulling me out from behind him._

_"Oh yeah? That`s what you think." I muttered darkly looking down at the ground. With a small roll of his eyes he pulled me over to an unoccupied goblin. _

_The goblin merely glared at us, not saying a thing. I cleared my throat and the goblins attention shifted over to me. _

_"Hi. I have a note from Professor Dumbledore giving me access to the Hogwarts vault for some money to purchase school supplies." I said, handing him the small note. _

_He gave a slight nod of his head before walking away, motioning for us to follow him. He led us to what appeared to be an old mining shaft, grunting to us to get into the little cart. I gave Harry a nervous stare but he smiled at me reassuringly, getting into the cart himself. I frowned but stepped in, gripping the sides of it so harshly that my knuckles were beginning to turn white._

_The small goblin stepped in and the cart instantly began zooming forward at a high speed. I clamped my mouth closed tightly to keep myself from screaming._

_Just as soon as the cart sped forward though it stopped. I lurched forward violently, nearly flying right out of the cart if Harry hadn`t had a hand on my shoulder._

_"You so should have warned me about that you know. It would have helped a lot." I hissed in his ear. _

_"I wanted you to find out for yourself." He said with an evil grin. I punched him playfully on the arm before stepping out of the cart and into the shaft. In front of us was a large vault with the number 208 written on the middle of it. The goblin approached it and opened it, moving aside once the large door slid open. _

_I stood there, gaping at the three large piles of Galleons sitting in the vault. They were like golden mountains, reaching at least ten feet high. _

_"How much do I need?" I asked, turning to face Harry. He tossed me a rather large backpack and I could already tell what he was going to say._

_"Fill that up, and if you need more we can come and get more." He said. I nodded and bent down, using my hand to scoop Galleons into the backpack. When it was full we walked out and the goblin closed the vault behind us and ushered us back into the death trap of a cart. _

...*******...

I walked out of Madame Malkin`s in a rather cheery mood, heading over to where I saw Harry standing.

"Harry!" I yelled. He spun around to face me and smiled, a look of relief spreading on his face. Glad to be done with clothing shopping likely.

"There you are Mia! Oh thank God. I`m never going clothing shopping again." He exclaimed. Damn I`m good.

"Alright." I giggled, looking down at my list.

_Third Year Supplies List_

_A Medium Sized Cauldron_

_Fitting Robes_

_Unfogging the Future by Juliana Rean_

_Basic Defensive and Offensive Spells: Level Three by Daniel Shtoff_

_Third Level Potions by Hansen Neil_

_The History of the Wizarding World by Natalie McDonald_

_The Monsters Book of Monsters by Takaroff Spensinfeld_

_A Set of Ten Quills_

_A Large Supply of Ink _

"I still need my wand." I said. I was getting my wand finally!

"Then we should be heading off to Ollivandanders."

"Okay."

It was a rather short walk there, but took longer than normal because of how crowded it was.

Finally we reached the small shop and Harry pushed me in when I wouldn`t go it.

I walked in and automatically had that feeling, you know, that one you get when you feel like somebody`s watching you. We wandered around for a minute before I spun around, coming face to face with an old man.

"Oh my! I`ve never had a student notice me before!" He exclaimed, jumping back in surprise.

"Erm, hello? Are you Mr. Ollivander?" I asked him. Harry was on the other side of the shop at the moment, but I could hear him walking over to see what all the fuss was about.

"Yes I am. I assume you need a wand. Well, let`s get going then!" He exclaimed and walked off into the endless shelves of the store. A minute later he emerged with his arms filled with small rectangular boxes. "Let`s start off with these and see where it goes with this." He smiled and reached into one of the boxes, pulling out a rather long wand with his thumb and index finger. "This is the first one. Unicorn mane and heartstring, 11 inches, ebony wood."

I took the wand from him, dropping it immediately when I touched it. It felt like I had burned my hand, but on further investigation it turned out that I had actually burned the wand instead.

"I-I`m sorry about the wand." I apologized quickly but he just shook his head.

"Do not worry my dear, trial and error as I say." He murmured as he reached into yet another box. Once again as soon as I touched it I burned the wand.

For almost an hour we went on the exact same cycle. He hands me a wand, I burn it, I apologize, and he searches through his mountain of boxes. By the time I really looked, I saw a large mountain of boxes stacked up to the ceiling.

"Harry is this normal?" I asked Harry, feeling concerned. Is it possible that there isn`t a wand for me out there?

"No, it`s not to be honest." He admitted, but put a hand on my arm. "Don`t worry though! Mr. Ollivander will probably find you one!" He reassured me yet it did nothing to ease my worries.

I heard a yell of triumph coming from the back of the store and Mr. Ollivander charged out here. He had another box in his hand, but this one was different from the other boxes. Instead of the burgundy colour like the rest of the boxes this one was a light blue colour and looked rather old.

"This is a rather old wand and has never actually worked for a single person before, but I think it is perfect for you. Hungarian Horntail claws wrapped in the same dragon`s heartstring, 12 inches, made from maple oak wood." He exclaimed, practically shoving the old want into my hands. I hesitated but picked it up from him, feeling a nice warm feeling spread through me. With a small glance I could already see a rapid fire of rainbow sparks raining out from the wand. "I have never seen such a display of such raw magical power! I see great things for you my dear!"

"Th-hanks sir." I thanked, slightly taken aback from the show of magic. Then the joy kicked in when I realized that I had found my wand. My wand.

...*******...

"Can we get the books tomorrow? I`m getting sort of tired." I yawned, placing my wand - which was sealed in its box - into the small bag I had slung around my shoulder.

"Sure." He smiled, glancing down at his watch. "Wow, it`s already 5:45 pm. Let`s get something to eat."

I smiled and nodded, heading over to the Leakey Cauldron.

Even though I`ve only been here a week, I`ve started to gain a small amount of weight, making me look less creepily skinny. I actually looked slightly normal, excluding the faint scars that were still visible on my arms and legs. But I could find a way to hide t hose, so it didn`t matter much. I also found myself feeling more comfortable opening up, but I don`t think I`m ready to just spill my guts to anybody I meet.

We walked into the Leakey Cauldron, sitting down at a table set for two people. Luckily there were menu`s and everything, so we could automatically order our dinner.

After leafing through the menu I found myself debating on whether to try 'pasta' or just have a cheeseburger. To be honest I don`t actually know what pasta is. Father`s never asked - more like forced - me to make him pasta, so I have no clue what it is.

"Hey, Harry. Mind telling me what pasta is?" I whispered, afraid of looking like a complete idiot for asking.

"It`s very good. You mean, you`ve never had it before?" He inquired with a chuckle. Oh crap. I guess it`s something normal families have a ton.

"My family is very... reserved. They don`t like to experiment with their food." I covered. It`s not a complete lie.

"Oh. Well why don`t you order it and try it out." He suggested, motioning for Tom to come over here.

"What do you kids want to order?" He asked with one of his toothy grins.

"Two orders of pasta please." Harry ordered, winking at me. I turned away, hiding the blush that I felt rushing onto my cheeks. Tom chuckled and nodded before turning around and heading into the kitchen.

Five minutes later he returned holding two plates, both of which were piled with large servings of what I assumed was pasta.

They were like small pieces of string made of sticky batter with a rich, tomato flavored sauce. I picked up a noodle with my fork, watching it dangle around a bit before placing it in my mouth. Out of the corner of my peripheral I could see Harry grinning at me, amusement twinkling in his green eyes.

"What? What`s so funny?" I questioned him, narrowing my eyes playfully.

"You look like five year old eating pasta for the first time." He snorted, taking a bit of his own pasta. I watched him put his fork in the noodles, twisting it and pulling it out with a large amount of pasta on it. I tried this myself and found it much easier than eating it one at a time.

Half way through the meal though we heard a large amount of yelling, crashing and then we saw a small ginger cat sprinting through the bar. It bounded towards us and onto our table, landing directly in my plate of pasta. The pasta splashed everywhere, covering me in a cloud of noodles and sauce.

Harry roared with laughter, falling off his chair and lying on the ground, clutching his stomach. I sat there in shock for a moment before joining him on the ground. Although I know I won`t be laughing in an hour when I have to pull all this pasta out of my hair.

Finally, we picked ourselves up from the ground and helped Tom cleaning up before going our separate ways, staying in our own bedrooms.

...*******...

"Mia? What are you doing awake?" Harry asked with a large yawn as he wandered down the stairs and over to me. I was currently perched on the armrest of the chair looking intently at the fire. Glancing at him I smiled lightly, half asleep.

"Hey." I smirked, noting the large bags that dwelled under his eyes. Obviously he was having as crappy of a time sleeping as I was. "Nightmares?" I guessed as he slumped over.

"Yeah." He grunted and collapsing into the chair I was perched on. "You know, only two weeks left until school starts." Harry pointed out and I groaned.

It`s nice being here though, which is why I`m going to miss it. It`s helping me with being around people and not having a panic attack.

"I think Dumbledore mentioned something about there being different houses at the school? What was he talking about?" I asked. Dumbledore said that the houses you're in become like your family and that you're in it for your entire school life.

"Pretty much there are four houses. Gryffindor, which Ron, Hermione and I are in, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Trust me, you don`t want to be in Slytherin though." Harry explained to me. "Slytherin has all of the darker students. The ones with parents that follow Voldemort." He smiled. That makes me nervous. Even though I`m nothing like my father, I just might end up in there because he works for Voldemort. "I don`t think you have to worry about Slytherin if that`s what your fretting over. I have a good feeling that you're going to be in Gryffindor."

I smiled at him and sighed. I glanced around the empty room and nodded to myself, knowing that this was the perfect time to tell him.

"I haven`t told you yet, but I think now is a great time. These scar`s," I said, lifting my sleeve and showing him the scars that trailed up my arms, "aren`t from falling. They`re from my father." He suddenly sat up, looking at me. He opened his mouth but I held up a hand to silence him. "When I was three my father killed my mother. My father`s Death Eater, and when my mother decided she didn't want to be part of it he killed her in front of me. Ever since then he was abusing me. Making me do all the cooking and cleaning. Then when I was seven he started abusing me physically too, slapping me, hitting me and using the... the... C-crucio curse on me whenever I refused to do something, and sometimes for no reason." I explained, releasing a shaking breath. "And ever since my mom died I've been living in my basement without light."

Harry just stared, eyes wide in horror, his entire body shaking with anger. I soon felt the tears rolling down my cheeks steadily and Harry's arm wrap around me.

"How could your father do that to you?" He whispered, not really expecting an answer. I just shook my head, absentmindedly wiping tears off my face.

Even though I felt numb, I was glad that I had shared it. Finally.

I was glad that I finally had a friend.

...*******...

A/N: What do you guys think?

You got a bit of an explanation to everything about Mia that may have been a bit foggy for you - if your still unsure about something you can ask in a review or personally ask me ;D - and had some... interesting moment.

Rose xx


	3. Chapter 3

_I do not own Harry Potter._

...*******...

"Harry, Flourish and Blotts is over here I think!" I said as I made my way towards the bustling store. "Harry?"

I looked beside me only now noticing that he had wandered off on his own. Idiot. What am I going to do with him?

Luckily I quickly spotted him with his face pressed on the glass of a wizards sport store.

"What are you drooling over?" I asked him. He looked over at me before returning his gaze to the thing on display.

"It's the new Firebolt! I'd love to have it, I really would." He sighed, looking at the price tag. I rolled my eyes and dragged him over to the book store, eager to get the rest of my supplies shopping done and over with.

"Look, once we're done with our supplies shopping you can drool all you want over that broom."

I stared in awe at the large, book filled room that I entered. Sort of like how Ollivander's store was absolutely filled with wands, this place was absolutely filled with books.

Books of all types, sizes and colours. I stopped suddenly, feeling somebody behind me just like I had with Ollivander.

"How can I help you two?" A middle-aged man asked, causing Harry to jump slightly.

"We're getting our books for school." Harry stated, holding out the list of books we needed. The man muttered something incoherent before walking off in search of the books.

"I'm going to take a look around. I'm rather low on reading material." I said, smiling slightly. He gave a quick nod and started to look around the shop himself.

While I was living at 'home' I never went to school, thus making me unable to do basic math. But every once and a while when he felt rather generous he's throw a book down for me to read, and whenever he did I'd read it up as fast as I could, and I'd read it over and over.

I walked around, looking at all the books. I had already gathered three books in my arms when I suddenly saw a door. Wait a second, that door wasn't there before?

Was it?

I shrugged to myself and glanced around before placing my hand on the doorknob and twisting it to the side. The door swung open, a small creaking noise escaping its old, rusty hinges. I peered inside and was surprised with what I saw.

It looked like the stereotypical version of a fortune teller's room with the only light being large clusters of candles scattered around the room, a round table in the middle with a table cloth that resembled a belly dancer's skirt draped on it, two chairs, and a large crystal ball sitting atop the table. The only difference was the one wall had a large shelf filled with books.

"Hello my dear. Please, sit down." An older woman said, appearing out of thin air. I jumped a little but composed myself and turned to face her.

She looked just as old as Dumbledore, long white hair that reached past her butt, a fortune tellers wrap on her head and a kind, wrinkled face.

"O-okay." I stuttered as I sat down at the chair she was motioning towards. She smiled warmly at me and sighed.

"Do not worry. I mean no harm. The only reason you were able to enter this room is your gift my child." She said as she sat down at the chair opposite of mine.

"Gift?" I inquired. I was still glancing around the room nervously, on edge. I didn't know this woman even if she seemed kind.

"Did you not question what happened when you avoided the killing curse not too long ago?"

"W-well I g-guess."

She reached across the table and placed her hands on mine.

"You do have a gift. But alas, what it is I may not tell you. It is for you to figure it out."

I raised an eyebrow at her. How did she even know about that?

"May I ask how you know about the killing curse? I haven't told a single person about that." It's true. I didn't even tell Harry yet.

"I'm what you would call a Seer. My crystal ball showed to me what happened, as well as showing you arriving here. That though is all I may tell you. But I want you to take this," She said, pulling out a rather large book from under the desk and handing it to me, "because it will help you unlock the true nature of your powers."

"Thank you." I said, taking the book from her.

"You're very welcome. I see great things for you, Miss Mia Denery. Oh, and you know, you did the right thing opening yourself up to The-Boy-Who-Lived. You can tell him everything." She said with a wink. I blushed a deep crimson before getting up and leaving.

I opened the door and closed it quickly. I turned back around but saw no trace of the old door.

Giving a slight shake of the head I sighed and looked down at the book I had been clutching tightly to my chest. It was very old looking with the title _The Secrets to Uncovering Your Inner Gift _printed in the middle in a golden colour. Bending down I snatched up the books I had dropped and walked over to the cash register. Harry quickly hurried over and heaved a sigh of relief, making me wonder how long I was gone.

"There you are Mia! I was just trying to find you. The guy working here just gathered all our books for us and we need to pay for them." He said with a smile. I nodded and returned the smile before placing the other book on the counter. Harry gave me a curious glance when I did, obviously wondering where I got it.

"I'll tell you later." I said with a dismissive wave of my hand.

The man came up to the cash register and gave me the same curious glance when he looked at the book, but he didn't say anything.

"So for the boy, its 30 Galleons, for the girl it's 42 Galleons and 3 Sickles." He said. Harry quickly counted out 30 of the large golden coins before turning to me. I bit my lip slightly, not knowing what to do.

"Can you help me count them?" I whispered in his ear. He smiled softly and counted out the money and handing it to the man as well. I gave him a thankful smile and gathered up the books in my arms, thankful to finally be done with all the back to school shopping.

We walked out of the store, and I could already notice Harry stealing glances in my direction, looking down at the book in my hands.

I sighed and stopped, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Look, I'll tell you once we're back at the Leaky Cauldron and in my room." I said.

...*******...

I walked into the small room and closed the door behind me, going and sitting on my bed where Harry already was.

"If you really want to know, that book was given to me by this woman. She called herself a Seer, and gave me this book." I started.

Her words played through my head, _you can tell him everything._

I already knew that too.

"But what does the book do? What did she give it to you for?" He asked, tensing slightly.

"Well, it sort of started when I was brought here. That day you found me, I had just been released from St. Mungo's." I sighed, and saw him stiffen. "My father... tried to use the killing curse on me. But for some reason though, it didn't hit me. It bounced off some sort of force field that had spread around me and the spell bounced off me, hitting him. The Seer just said that she couldn't tell me exactly what my gift was, but said that this book would help me work it out." I sighed. "Please, don't hate me for not telling you about th-"

He pulled me into a tight hug and shook his head.

"Why would I ever hate you for that? Nobody could ever expect you to share that so soon. I'm surprised that you told me now considering it only happened a little over a week ago." He said. I looked up and smiled at him, thankful for that boost of confidence.

"Thanks." I said. I stood up and hugged him again. "Let's get going. I do believe that I promised you a chance to drool over that broom." I winked before walking out of the room.

He grinned and chuckled, opening the door.

"Ladies first." He said with a mock bow. I rolled my eyes and walked out with him following behind me.

...*******...

As we approached the sports store Harry slowly switched from an average walk to a swift walk to a jog.

I rolled my eyes at his antics. Boys.

"Harry, what's so special about that broom?" I asked, staring at it doubtfully. He gaped at me.

"It's _the _best broom in the world!" He exclaimed, looking at me in complete disbelief.

I was about to retort when I heard a shrill voice. "Harry! Harry!"

I spun around and came face-to-face with a girl who looked about our age accompanied by a rather tall and lanky red head who also looked our age.

"Oh! We were so worried! With Black on the run and what not." The girl said enveloping him in a tight bear hug. I glanced over at him through her bushy hair to give him a curious look.

"We thought he may have gotten to you already." The boy muttered then glanced towards me. "Oi, mate who's this?" He asked jabbing a thumb at me.

Really?

The girl finally released him and he breathed in deeply, returning the air to his lungs.

"Guys, this is Mia Denery. She's joining our year. Mia this is Ron and Hermione." He said, motioning to each one of us in turn. I nodded and smiled at them, giving a small wave.

"Hi. Nice to meet both of you. Harry's talked a lot about you both." I greeted, hoping that my makeup had worked this morning.

Lately my scars have been getting a little more noticeable, be it my gaining a tan, or just them deciding to show, but I figured out that make up works out well with hiding them.

"Nice to meet you Mia. Where were you going before you came here?" Hermione asked with a smile. Oh crap. I gave Harry a 'help me' look but he shrugged.

"Oh. It's a school in Canada actually." I lied,

Canada?

That's the best I could come up with? Damn I need to work on my lying.

"Cool!" She grinned turning to face Harry. "Do you both want to come and do the school shopping with us? We're just about to start with Ron's family." She asked.

"We actually already did it. In fact, we just finished earlier today." He replied sheepishly.

"I-I'm sorry I didn't know that you three did it together!" I apologized, starting to feel bad already.

Hermione and Ron both looked at me and shrugged.

"Don't worry 'bout it. It's no big deal really." Ron said passively.

"Yeah you don't need to feel bad Mia. Were you guys just really excited or something?" She inquired as we started walking towards a large group of redheads. All of them were clustered together talking rapidly with one another. Considering the resemblance it's safe to say that they were Ron's family.

"You could say that." I murmured. It's not a lie, just avoiding the truth. Really I just needed Harry there to help me with the adding considering I had trouble counting past four. I would have been giving too much and too little amounts of money everywhere. Hermione just gave me an odd look before shrugging.

Suddenly a large portly woman emerged from the sea of Wesley's and forced Harry into a bone-crushing hug, one much like Hermione's.

"Harry my dear! Oh, I'm so glad to see you!" She exclaimed before giving Harry a kiss on the cheek. He blushed a bit but grinned.

"I'm glad to see you too Mrs. Weasley." He said as his blush slowly began to fade. I had to rush over and pinch his cheeks before the blush had completely disappeared.

He slapped my hand away lightly and muttered a 'go away' before grinning again. It didn't take long for me to really realize that the Weasley's were like the family that Harry was never really given, and that they made him feel more welcome than anybody. I wish I had a family like that.

"Mia. Mia? Mia!" Harry shouted, clapping in front of my face. I jumped a little before looking around to see everybody staring at me, causing the heat to rush to my face. He grinned and shook his head before speaking again. "Guys this is Mia Denery."

I saw who I supposed was Mr. Weasley widen his eyes slightly, but didn't say a word. Odds are he works for the Ministry and knows about what happened. I gave a discreet shake of my head before smiling again.

"Hi, nice to meet you." I smiled.

"Very nice to meet you. I do hope that I get to see you around Hogwarts." The oldest Weasley said, sounding more like a 30 year old than the 16 or 17 year old he looks to be.

"Hey there-"

"Mia it's nice to-"

"Meet you." The twins said, finishing each other's sentences. I see many headaches ahead courtesy of these two.

"Er... hi." I grinned, shaking hands with both the twins at the same time. I saw a small girl from inside the crowd come up and give me a shy smile.

"Hi. I'm Ginny." She said in a soft voice. I nodded and gave her a smile before turning back to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.

"Well, I think it's just about time we had supper. Tomorrow we start the shopping." Mrs. Weasley announced as she ushered the entire family, including Harry, Hermione and I into the Leaky Cauldron.

...*******...

Tom ended up having to join three large tables together just to fit all of us together. All of us ordered different things. I decided not to order pasta, but instead a hamburger with fries on the side.

When Tom had brought us the food, he started a conversation with Mr. Weasley.

"Have you all seen the _Daily Prophet_ today? Rumors are there was another person who survived the killing curse, a fourteen year old girl this time." I heard him say, causing me to choke on my food. Harry promptly patted me on the back so I could swallow before looking at me with concern. Ron turned to look at me, a suspicious look on his face.

"I heard. Mind you, her name sounded a lot like yours Mia." He said, glancing at me up and down.

No way. They swore that it wasn't going to be all over the media like it was with Harry, that it was going to stay under wraps unless I decided to share it.

It wasn't long before Percy pulled out a copy of the said newspaper, holding it up and reading it to himself. He looked towards me, a look of horror and shock mixed on his face.

"By God... Mia it was you." He murmured. I instantly felt myself pale and I set my fork down. I just met these people! Why must I explain myself already?

"Yes. It was me." I said, attempting to keep my voice steady. He instantly stopped talking and I stood up and walked upstairs, heading towards my room, but stopping outside the door. I was able to stand outside it without being seen and still heard their dinner conversation.

"Percy! How could you! That poor girl still hasn't gotten over it and you bring it up!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed in a shrill voice, slapping him harshly on the arm.

"How was I supposed to know that it would cause her to have a fit?" He said indignantly. Prick. It's been just over a week, how the hell am I supposed to be acting, peachy?

"Did you know about it Harry?" Hermione asked him from across the table where she was sitting. I think he may have nodded, considering I heard a wave of gasps pass throughout the table.

"I knew it too." Mr. Weasley piped up, coming to Harry's defense. "She was aware that I knew it too, but asked me not to say anything."

I'll give him that. He did stay silent.

"It's not like we could have expected her to tell us. She barely knows us!" Hermione exclaimed, being the voice of reason. I think I'm going to like this girl. I heard two or three chairs being pushed back and people thudding over to the stairs. I rushed over to my door and threw it open, closing it silently behind me.

It was only second later that I heard Harry, Ron and Hermione knock on my door.

"Come in..." I said my voice barely above a whisper. Hermione was the first one in, instantly tugging me into a hug. I repeat; I like this girl. "Thanks." I murmured and she just nodded.

"Look, Mia I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up." Ron said.

"You don't need to be sorry Ron. I had planned to tell you and Hermione before we ended up going to school; I just wish your prick of a brother could have just left his paper." I admitted. I didn't even bother faking a smile. It would have been horribly fake and resemble more of a grimace than anything else. Hermione let out a small gasp, but whether it was at my language or my truthfulness that caused her to gasp I do not know.

"You were?" She asked and I nodded. I looked towards Harry, silently asking if he thinks I should tell them what it was that happened that night. He just shrugged, as if saying: if you want to, go ahead. Taking in a deep breath I prepared myself to launch into that night.

"No time better than the present I guess. What happened that night was my father got mad because there had been reports of child abuse and people came. They wouldn't have found me if I hadn't been screaming, they never would have found me in the basement where he kept me. When they came down, he was in front and opened it, shooting the death curse at me. He was a Death Eater, so for him it wasn't a big deal. But when it started to come towards me, it bounced off something and hit him, killing him instead." I explained, only taking two or three breaths.

Ron breathed out; I guess he was holding his breath. Hermione just stared at me with her hand over her mouth. Harry on the other hand just stood there, hiding his emotions behind a stone mask.

For a while, nobody spoke. We just sat there in a comfortable silence. Ron just stood there, Hermione sat beside me, her had still clamped on her mouth and Harry hadn't moved.

Screw it. I'm tired, and I want to go to bed.

"Guys, uh, do you mind leaving? I'm just really tired and I want to go to bed." I said with a slight smile. Ron automatically nodded and walked out.

Hermione gave me a final hug before walking out. Harry instantly took her spot, looking at me with concerned eyes.

"You were really brave you know. Telling them everything. Now, get some rest because if I've learnt anything over the past three years it's that shopping with the Weasleys is a tough job." He said with a wink. I giggled and climbed under the covers, not even bothering to change out of my clothes.

...*******...

A/N:

-gaspies- = 0

The Ministry revealed her story without asking, and she was forced to explain! Duh, duh, duh.

Next chapter gets interesting because Mia gets the Weasley experience; D


	4. Chapter 4

_I do not own Harry Potter_

...*******...

"Now, now! Stay together! Fred, George stop that this instant! Ginny, dear, this way!" Mrs. Weasley shouted in her attempts to keep the Weasleys all together.

"Is it always like this?" I asked Harry in a hushed voice. He smirked and nodded, so I assume it's a good thing. "Poor Mrs. Weasley. Must be hell trying to keep this entire family under control."

Harry snorted, causing the entire party to glance at us. I just shook my head and pointed to him innocently.

We passed by a newspaper stand a few times, the cover catching my eye each time. It was a picture of Sirius Black's mug shots, and something about it seemed so familiar!

Finally I just cracked and bought a copy, having Harry help me counting out nine Sickles. I just couldn't manage to get where I saw him out of my head the entire day!

Could he have helped day with torturing me? Did I just see him at one of the Death Eater meetings? It did say he was a Death Eater in the paper, plus I was often used as a servant at those things, so it wouldn't have been a surprise. But none of those seem right!

_**BAM!**_

I fell onto my butt, feeling that familiar sting of pain blossoming in my butt. I looked up to see George Weasley standing in front of me, holding his hand out for me to grab. When I grabbed it he yanked me up and set me down on my feet gently.

"Sorry 'bout that. Mom had us stop and you sort of ran into me." He said sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck.

"Don't worry about it. I should probably be paying more attention anyways." I smirked and folded my paper up. I placed it in my purse and we continued on our way, but my thoughts still lingered on the topic of Sirius Black.

It wasn't until Mrs. Weasley spoke up that I finally yanked myself out of my own thoughts.

"I think we're finished!" She said in triumph. The four of us, Harry, Ron, Hermione and I all went off to get ice cream while the rest of the family decided to go back.

"I'm going to get two scoops of strawberry cream please!" Hermione grinned, handing the ice cream guy a bunch of Sickles.

"I'll get a chocolate banana muster buster please." Ron ordered and handed him what looked to be a larger pile of Sickles.

"Two scoops of chocolate please." Harry said and paid him before looking at me expectantly.

"I-I'll get... erm... two scoops of vanilla I guess." I said before looking to Harry for help.

"Twelve Sickles please." The guy said, holding his hand out. Harry paid him and we walked away.

I frowned and ate my ice cream in silence until Ron, being the blunt idiot I could already see him being, decided to bring him up.

"So what happened back there?" He asked, finally taking a second to breathe from eating his ice cream.

Damn. Should I just tell him that I don't know how to add? Maybe that's perfectly normal for a wizard, to not be able to add.

Who the hell am I kidding? Of course they know how to add! They can pay for their own stuff.

"I don't actually know basic math. I can't add or subtract or anything. That's why Harry and I had already finished our shopping. At first I just said that my parents didn't want me to go to muggle school so I hadn't learned anything." I admitted, hesitating before adding on the last part. "I can't even count past 4."

Ron opened his mouth to reply but Hermione gave him a hard kick in the shins before giving me a sweet smile. From the way Harry had talked about her, she's the smartest kid in the entire year.

"You know, I could tutor you in math. Even at my old muggle school I did pretty well, and I was already tutoring little kids with math." She offered, and I smiled.

Perfect.

No offense to Harry, but he's not really the greatest tutor, considering he's been trying to teach me math for the past week and a half and hasn't gotten anywhere with it. I get the feeling that Hermione is a lot better at this sort of stuff anyways.

"That'd be awesome! No offense Harry, but you're not the greatest tutor." I snorted and he blushed slightly. Ron just burst out laughing, why exactly, I don't know, but soon we all joined in.

I couldn't help it really; Ron just looks so funny when he's laughing. His ears turn all pink and so do his cheeks.

When we all managed to calm ourselves down we stood up and walked away, heading off in the direction of the pet store. I had sort of zoned out, but I think I may have heard Ron and Hermione arguing over one thing or another like Harry said that constantly do. Personally I think it's cute because I can already tell Hermione has a crush on Ron and a rather big one too, even if she doesn't know it herself.

"How are you able to stand these two for an entire freaking school year?" I asked rubbing my temples.

"I don't even know. Half of the time they don't know why they're arguing with each other." He muttered as we walked into the pet store.

To be honest it was rather small and dark, but that didn't really bother me that much. The entire store was loud from constant squawking, squeaking, meowing and the occasional hoot. Ron ran up to the lady at the front and started blabbering on about his rat's problems. The woman just nodded and listened until he was finished and handed him a small bottle with a crimson coloured liquid.

"This rat tonic should do the job. Give your rat two drops of this every time you feed him and that should help him. He'll probably stop changing colour and return to his normal colour and begin to get much more active and happy." She explained, showing Ron how to give it to his rat Scabbers.

It was odd. I could sense something, something different about Scabbers. He didn't seem like a normal rat to me. Whatever it was though, I just couldn't put my finger on it so I decided to ignore it.

We were walking out when a familiar looking ginger cat jumped out and tackled Ron, aiming to attack Scabbers. Ron let out a yell and pulled away and the shop owner rushed over to us, grabbing the tabby by the scruff of his neck. Hermione on the other hand let out a squeal and grabbed the cat. Amazingly enough the cat instantly began to purr. The shop owner seemed relieved that the cat didn't try and claw her face off.

"That's incredible! This cat's hated every single person that tried to take him home before!" She exclaimed in disbelief. Ron dragged Harry outside while Hermione purchased the fat cat.

I just stood there, glaring menacingly at the fat tabby. When we got outside where Harry and Ron were she finally noticed my glares.

"What?" She asked innocently. Wait... she didn't know about what that cat did.

"That evil cat! A couple of days ago that cat pounced on our table during dinner and landed in my noodles and I got covered in them." I said. The cat looked at me.

If I didn't know better I'd say that the cat was giving me a smile.

No, not just a smile. A _smug _smile. He thought he was better than me.

"You bought that monster?" Ron asked.

"Yes. He's not a monster either. His name is Crookshanks, so use it." She said in a superior tone.

"That cat's freakin' evil. He thinks he's better than me." I muttered darkly, glaring daggers at the cat. It merely laughed and turned on the purr machine.

I officially hate cats.

Hate. Cats.

No matter how cute they are, every single one is just a sly little monster covered in fur. That _thing _Hermione got is proof of that.

"Just keep him away from Scabbers. He almost killed him a few minutes ago!" Ron said, glaring at the cat too.

"Crookshanks is an angel, and would never try to eat Scabbers." Hermione replied testily. Ron better shut up soon, or he's going to find himself in a rather bad spot with Hermione.

"Yeah, a perfect angel." He muttered, sarcasm lacing his words. Idiot.

I grabbed Harry's wrist and dragged him away, already sensing the harsh shouting match about to unfold.

"Trust me on this, it's about to get very ugly back there." I murmured, and no sooner did I hear the first shout come out of Hermione's mouth. Ron's soon followed and before we knew it half the street was watching their argument.

"Uh... wow." Harry said, glancing back at the two of them.

"Let's get back. I have a feeling that the two of them are going to lose their voices pretty soon and are going to have to stop arguing." I sighed and continued to drag him back to the Leaky Cauldron. We walked through but Harry stopped me when we were outside my door.

I glanced at him but he just put a finger to his lips and pointed to his ears.

"Molly, we need to tell him." Mr. Weasley reasoned with her.

"But Arthur! Harry's still so young! All he needs is one more thing to worry about!" Mrs. Weasley's said her voice shrill. I get the feeling that this argument has been going on for a little while now.

"Look Molly, Black is hunting him, and we both know that he's going to stop at nothing to get to him. If he doesn't know, then how is he going to know what to be aware of?" He reasoned with his wife, on the border line of pleading with him.

"At least give the Harry until the end of summer and just tell him on the way to Kings Cross." She said her tone final.

"Fine." He sighed. I moved to open the door of my room, but stopped when I heard my name. "We need to keep Mia hidden for a while. Thankfully there was no picture in the _Prophet _but as soon as she gets to Hogwarts the entire school is going to know. We should at least try and keep her from being swarmed until then. And the Ministry has placed her on the Dangerous Magically Gifted Wizard/Witch list. The Ministry is keeping an eye on her." He said. What? I don't even know my gift, how could I be placed on that list? It wasn't dangerous either, just self-defense! "They also are trying to get her in so that they can talk to her. They suspect her dad was one of the top highest up Death Eaters when the He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was up on top." Mrs. Weasley gasped. I mean, I knew he was a Death Eater, but I didn't think he was when Voldemort was big.

The Death Eater meetings aren't even that bad, they just talk about what they want to do and what they would do if Voldemort was still in power.

"But why? The poor girl didn't do anything!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed. Mr. Weasley just sighed in frustration and continued.

"They think she may have information on what goes on in the small meetings that the left over Death Eaters have. All we need to do is keep her away from the Ministry until school starts because as soon as she's in Hogwarts Dumbledore won't let them in." He said, explaining to his wife.

My eyes widened in horror, my brain processing everything I'd just heard.

What am I supposed to do? Just keep myself out of the way and stay hidden? I don't really even know the people at the Ministry. I shook my head and walked into my room, Harry following me inside. Right now I just wanted to completely forget every single thing I'd just heard and focus on finding what this 'gift' is.

"I really don't want to talk about what I just heard Harry." I murmured.

"Neither do I." He stated simply, sitting down beside me on the bed. I sighed and pulled out the book, opening it up to the first page. I brainstormed different things to do, but came up with nothing.

Hermione came barging in a second later with paper in one hand and a pencil in the other.

"Are you ready for your math lesson?" She asked happily. Harry grinned at me and stood up, walking out of the room. Traitor!

"No."

...*******...

I threw the pencil down and stomped on my piece of paper in frustration.

"Why is math so hard?" I whined as I rubbed my temples.

"Because you're making it hard." She replied with a roll of her eyes.

"No, I'm not. I'm just no good at it." I stated. She sighed and picked up the pencil, setting it beside her. She took a deep breath before starting again.

"Look. All you have to do is add up with your fingers." She said and placed her hands out for me to see. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten." She counted every number on her fingers when she said it. "Now I want you to do the same thing."

I did exactly what she did and looked back up to her.

"Good. Now after ten is..." She said, pointing towards me.

"Eleven?" I hesitated, making it sound more like a question than an answer.

"Yes! Great work!" She said and gave me a hug. "Now, keep going. Count up to twenty on your own."

"Twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty!" I said and jumped up and down.

I was getting it! I was finally getting it! She smiled and jumped up and down with me. Harry came in to see what the fuss was and I ran over to him and hugged him.

"Wha?" He said, looking rather confused.

"I counted to twenty! On my own!" I squealed and he grinned.

"That's great! You're doing really well." He complimented. I blushed slightly and suddenly saw flowers sprouting out of random places in the room.

I gasped in surprise at the same time as Hermione. I jumped back as one sprouted under my foot, and I lost my balance slightly. With a soft thud I landed on the ground, hitting my butt for the second time today.

Harry and Hermione laughed as the flowers continued to sprout. Suddenly I felt Hermione land on top of me and we laughed even harder. It wasn't long until buzz-kill Percy came in and yelled at us to shut up because he was doing his homework. He slammed the door closed and we were silent for a minute before we started laughing even harder than before.

Nobody bothered to come up and stop us until Mr. Weasley entered the room in the midst of our laughing fit.

"What happened in here?" He asked bewildered.

"I'm sorry, I got really excited and the flowers just randomly began blooming." I explained as I wiped a tear from my eye. He raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

"It's supper time and everybody else wants to order. Try and get downstairs soon please." He said and closed the door behind him. I stood up and frowned, stretching up.

"Hermionee..." I whined, turning towards her. She looked at me and put a hand on her hip.

"What?"

"My butt hurts!" I complained. She just rolled her eyes and walked out to the hall. I crossed my arms on my chest and turned to Harry, but he walked out before I could say anything else. "Bullies." I muttered before following them out.

...*******...

A/N:

Heyo guys!

Second update today!

...

I think o.o

WHATEVER! ;D


	5. Chapter 5

_I do not own Harry Potter_

...*******...

_I glanced around, confused. Where was I?_

_Wait a sec... is that me?_

_Glancing to the side I saw myself running along with Harry and some other man that I couldn't see._

_The dementors swarmed us, coming from all directions. _

_Harry cried out, collapsing onto his knees. I rushed over to him with my wand out, ready to perform whatever spells needed. That other man there, I couldn't see him. His face was shrouded in shadows making his face indistinguishable._

_I looked at my dream me, and I saw myself yell out a spell. Something shot out of my wand, bathing the entire are in light. _

_It wasn't enough though. _

_I fell to my knees beside Harry and the dementors swarmed me..._

"Mia!" Somebody shouted.

I woke up, my vision blurry.

"Harry?" I murmured. His face was coming into view above me. "Is that you?"

"Yeah. You alright? You were screaming in your sleep." He asked, concerned. I nodded and sat up a bit more but quickly laid back down when my vision began swimming.

"Fine. It was just a nightmare." I replied with a weak smile. Wait a second; was my head on his lap?

I avoided blushing when I noticed, and tried to sit up again. This time I managed, sitting up on my bed. That nightmare was so real. It was really scary, but incredibly vivid. It was almost like I slipped out of my body somehow and was watching events unfold.

Who was that man though? I didn't get to see any features on his face, but he seemed familiar all the same. As if I've seen him before.

"You're sure you're alright? You were thrashing around and screaming. When I came in you looked pale and dead lying on the floor." He said, concern filling his voice.

Oh. That's probably why my head was in his lap.

"I'm sure. Sorry about scaring you though. It was a very real dream, and I honestly don't know what to make of it." I sat back up and stared out the window. Well, it was morning. I guess I should probably get some clothes on and everything. "I'm going to get ready. If you want I can tell you about the dream later on the train. I think it may have to do with Ron and Hermione as well."

He nodded and stood up, stretching before walking out.

I walked over to my now full closet - I went on a bit of a shopping spree - and slipped on a pair of dark blue skinny jeans and a knitted red t-shirt.

After checking myself in the mirror I walked downstairs, getting stopped halfway down the stairs by Ron.

"Mia, are you missing something?" He asked. I raised an eyebrow at him, thinking about it. What could I have forgotten?

"Huh? Ron what are you talking about?" I looked around me.

"Shoes Mia. You need shoes." He chuckled and turned me around, giving me a bit of a push back up the stairs. I glanced down at my feet to see no shoes, but my dirty old socks. Woops.

"Oh, right. Shoes. I need shoes." I mumbled, sprinting back up the stairs. I could hear Ron laughing the entire way up. He's a jerk, but at least he told me.

I slipped on a pair of black converse before racing around the room, packing up all my things into my trunk and raced back downstairs only to see everybody already waiting by the door.

"Sorry, I forgot to put my shoes on." I muttered as I set my trunk on the ground. I could hear the twins laughing rather loudly and even Percy chuckled a little bit.

"Don't worry Mia; you're probably just tired is all." Mr. Weasley said just as the car pulled up. Everybody piled in and Mr. Weasley pulled us aside, a serious look on his face. "I wanted to talk to you two before we leave. It's about - "

"Sirius Black. Mia and I overheard your argument with Mrs. Weasley." Harry sighed.

"Then you both know. Harry, I want you to stay on guard. We have no clue where Black is and who may be with him, but we do know his intention is to kill you Harry." Mr. Weasley said in a hushed tone. "Mia, I want you to keep your head high. When they make you do sorting they call you up by your full name, and at least half the kids are going to recognize your name from the _Daily Prophet. _Be aware of the Malfoys or any other kids like him that may try to befriend you. I trust Harry, Ron and Hermione to watch out for you though." He finished and ushered us into the already packed car.

It was actually really nice and a lot bigger than it looked on the outside.

I sat down, stuck in between George and Harry the entire ride. The entire ride I just couldn't take my thoughts off my dream from last night. I don't know what to think about it, whether to trust it or just ignore it completely as if it never happened.

...*******...

In what seemed to be minutes we were at the train station, walking into the bustling crowd of people getting to work.

Luckily Hermione had a tight grip on my wrist, otherwise I would have lost the entire group a few times.

When we arrived at Platform 9 and 10, there was nothing there. I gave Hermione a questioning look, but she merely grinned.

"Alright Harry, Ron, you two first. We don't want a repeat of last year." Mrs. Weasley said, causing Ron and Harry to blush. First for what? I wonder what happened last year though.

Suddenly Harry and Ron charged forward, running head first into the pillar and disappeared. I squeaked a bit but didn't make too much of a noise. I've seen magic before, but I mean come on! A freakin' wall? What if some muggles passed by and saw kids running into a _solid _wall.

"Mia and Hermione it's your turn dearies." Mrs. Weasley said and gave us a slight push. I sucked in a deep breath before running into the wall, completely ignoring the feeling in my gut that was saying to stop. I prepared for the impact, but felt none. Instead I stepped out into a large area.

There were tons of kids talking with their parents, some crying, some laughing and some just talking.

"Whoa..." I murmured in awe as I looked around. I actually was here and I was actually going to Hogwarts.

I wasn't really paying attention but I was conscious of somebody dragging me through the crowd and onto the train. Nobody bothered to pull me out of my thoughts until I was standing in a compartment with everybody else.

"What's wrong? You've been spacing all day." Ron looked at me, staring into my eyes. Damn. Do I have to explain now?

"I guess I had to explain eventually." I muttered, plopping down beside Hermione. I looked beside her though and nearly screamed. "What the!" I jumped back slightly, taking a better look at him. "Lupin?"

"Who?"

"Remus Lupin. When I woke up in St. Mungo's he was sitting beside my bed. I wonder what he's doing on here." I said and poked him. Hermione slapped my hand away but my poking him didn't do a thing.

"Mia! Don't do that!" Hermione scolded me. I stuck my tongue out at her and turned back to him, finally noticing that he's asleep. Harry, Ron and Hermione chatted for a few while, none of them trying to get me to talk to them. I liked that they were respecting my space and leaving me alone just to think.

What could Lupin be doing here?

I remember Harry mentioning something about there always being a Defense Against the Dark Arts teaching spot every year since the position is cursed. Maybe he's taking up the position.

"Well, well. Look who we have here." A voice sneered. I whipped my head in the direction, a look of horror taking over my features.

"Go away Malfoy." Harry spat, venom in his voice. Draco Malfoy? No.

"Whatever Potter." He said, looking towards me. He raised an eyebrow, looking sort of shocked. "Huh. So you are alive. I thought all those years around your father had done you in. Guess that really was about you in the _Prophet_."

I glared daggers at him, standing up. This is going to get ugly.

Hermione tugged me back down, but both Harry and Ron were standing.

"Leave her alone Malfoy. Her first day at Hogwarts shouldn't be ruined by having to see _you_." Ron growled, pulling out his wand.

"Ron!" Hermione said in a hushed tone, motioning to Lupin. Malfoy looked towards him, his eyes widening.

"W-who's that?" He asked. Harry smiled at his fear and sighed.

"Oh, him. That's the new professor." Harry said nonchalantly. Woot! Go Harry!

"I'll be back Potter. And you," He said pointing at me. "you better watch yourself."

And with that he stalked out of the compartment, slamming the door closed. Lupin stirred slightly but his breathing remained heavy. Great, now I have two things to explain to these guys.

"How come he knew you?" Harry asked in a slightly worried tone.

"Our fathers were friends. He use to come over and taunt me often." I murmured, returning to my thoughts.

Why did him, of all people have to be here? Seriously, what did I ever do to deserve that prick. Now he's just going to taunt me daily as a part of his personal fun just like he use to. It'll be even worse if I'm stuck with him at school.

Turning my attention to the window I noticed rain pressing against the glass, the sky suddenly dark. Odd, wasn't it a sunny day today?

I stiffened suddenly, whipping out my wand. I know this feeling.

All eyes were on me and the train came to a sudden halt. The lights suddenly went out and we were plunged into darkness.

"Dementors. Nobody move." I ordered, my voice steady despite my fear. With me Dementors had more than enough to go after making me a prime target for them. Then it became like I wasn't even me anymore, and I felt something else take control of me.

I could still see, but I couldn't control my voice or my body.

Standing up my body faced the door. People stumbled in, confusing taking everybody else over.

"Ow! Hey, who's there?" Ron yelped.

"Sorry, it's us. We were out of our compartment when the lights went out." Neville mumbled. I could hear whimpering from somebody and I assumed it to be Ginny.

"Do you guys - "

"Everybody quiet." A voice said, suddenly entering the conversation. I felt myself smile and give a slight nod.

The air went cold and still, nobody saying a thing or moving.

The compartment doors creaked as they were opened and the Dementors slid in. Whatever was controlling my body raised my wand.

"_Expecto Patronum!_" I yelled and a tiger made of light shot out of my wand, pouncing towards the dementors. I felt myself sway and crash to the floor, blacking out.

...*******...

_"Your just a stupid little girl!" A small boy taunted, his pale blond hair slicked back against his head. "No wonder your dad treats you so poorly."_

_"Go away jerk! I'm not a stupid girl!" I shouted, imagining him flying against the far wall. _

_As if I made it the boy flew back producing a sickening crunch as he hit the wall hard. My dad charged in, his wand raised._

_"You little freak of nature! Look at what you did!" He roared, pointing at me with his wand._

_"He was making fun of me..." I whimpered, cowering at the sight of his wand. _

_"You deserve it! You should die for doing that, but I feel generous so I'll only torture you." He said as he took a threatening step towards me. I sunk down lower towards the ground as another man came in, identical to his son. _

_"That little bitch. Look at what she did now. You better punish her well for this." The man sneered, his voice the exact same as his son._

_My father smiled in twisted joy and nodded. I knew exactly what was coming._

_"Crucio." He said as if he was talking about the weather. Casually._

_I screamed in pain, sinking to the ground. My entire body erupted in pain, burning almost. I felt like I'd just been dumped into the fire._

_He increased the strength of it, bringing me to my breaking point. That point where there's so much pain, my body no longer can process it. He stops there every single time. If I feel no pain, he feels no joy. _

_The other man looked at me with pure disgust. _

_"Next time, I'll be the one to torture you, and you won't be as lucky. Your father showed you mercy, something I do not possess." He snarled and walked out of the room, carrying his son on his back. My father stormed out and slammed the door without even a glance back at me._

...*******...

"Wake up! Come on w - Ron stop smacking Harry in the face! That is so not helping!" Hermione shrieked, starting my pounding headache. God that girl had a high voice sometimes.

"Hermione shut up will you? I'm trying to nap..." I muttered and swatted her hand away. She picked me up and squished me into a bear hug. "That is so not what I meant!" I squirmed out of her bear hug and sat down in my seat. Seconds later Harry woke up, staring around the room in confusion.

"Sorry, but I'm just so glad your awake. You scared us so much! After you performed that spell, which I must add was marvelous, you passed out. How did you know that spell?" She asked me, finally taking a breath.

Damn! How do I answer that, Neville doesn't know anything and I'd rather keep it that way. I don't know him at all.

Ginny knows a little bit, but not enough.

"I don't know. I wasn't even in control of my body when the dementors came in." I admitted. Ginny and Neville stared at me, a mix of shock and horror showing on their faces. Screw them!

"Don't even ask because I won't tell you." I warned them barely even looking up at my wand. Both nodded and I could see Ron with an arm around Ginny's shoulders, holding her for comfort. I sort of felt bad about the way I said that, but then I don't. They were looking at me like I was a freaking monster, so whatever.

Neville and Ginny both quickly stood up and walked out, returning to their own compartment. I sighed and banged my head on the wall behind me.

"Did you have to be so harsh?" Ron inquired, an undertone of anger in his voice.

"They were looking at me like I was a monster, so yes." I snapped. He frowned at my tone but ignored it.

"What happened?" Harry suddenly said. He still looked rather confused and unsure what happened.

"Ask them." I muttered and pointed to Ron and Hermione.

"Well, when the Dementors came in Mia used a strong spell on them, the only spell that repels them, and passed out. Harry you fainted just before she performed the spell and Lupin rushed out afterwards to go check with the conductor." She said. That was quick.

"Yeah pretty much." I muttered. Wow. I went from sounding really pissed to really depressed in seconds. Good for me, I'm turning emo. I stared out the window again, watching the drops as they fall down the window.

I found myself humming a rather depressing song I wrote not too long after a torture session one night and everybody looked at me.

These people really like to stare don't they.

"Mia you had a memory about being tortured didn't you?" Harry guessed. I leaned back and closed my eyes, debating on what to tell them. I opened one eye and looked at him.

"In a way. It was partly Malfoy teasing me, that little prat, and then my father tortured me." I looked back at the window again. For once I was actually happy to see rain, but I had no clue why. What kind of person gets happy at rain? Something that sad and dark. Oh, that's right. Little 'ol emo me.

Nobody said anything for a while, all of us caught up in our own thoughts. Lupin walked in finally and I glanced at him. I felt myself get slightly happier and even smile when I looked at him.

"Hey Lupin. Good to see you again." I smirked. He chuckled and ran a hand through his hair.

"Good to see you as well. I must say, that was a very impressive patronus. How did you know that spell?" He asked.

"It was a newer aspect of my 'gift'." I replied, using air quotations on the word gift. "It takes over my body actually. I had no clue about the spell."

He nodded and fell silent. Finally the train stopped again, this time at the Hogsmeade station.

...*******...

A/N:

Here we are. I think that was a pretty decent sized chapter, don't you?

Well, if you don't that's too damn bad.

Oh, and with Mia calling herself emo, I didn't mean to offend anybody, just putting that out there.

I HOPE YOU LIKED!

Rose xx


	6. Chapter 6

_I do not own Harry Potter_

...***...

As soon as the train stopped Hermione, Harry and Ron all dragged me off. Lupin caught us before we left towards the castle though, stuffing a large piece of chocolate into each of our hands.

Chocolate. That's a very interesting thing.

I shrugged and bit into it, a warm sensation overtaking my bitterness and depression. Wicked!

"Who knew chocolate was so useful." I said, staring at the large chunk of chocolate in my hand. Lupin had given Harry and I a lot more than Ron and Hermione. Probably because we fainted though. Hermione just stared at me, a small smile playing upon her lips.

"Your so much nicer to be around when your smiling you know that." She took the final bite of her chocolate and brushed her hands off on her robes. I rolled my eyes and continued to nibble on my chocolate peacefully, taking in everything around us.

"Firs' Years over here!" A large man called, catching my attention. I glanced over at him and let out a squeal, surprised by his large height.

Harry, Ron and Hermione all grinned and jogged over to the man to say hello.

"Hey Hagrid!" Harry greeted and shook his hand.

"Hello there 'Arry, Ron, 'Ermione. How's your summer been?" Hargrid asked, beaming down at them . He turned his attention towards me, seeing if He knew who I am. "Who's this 'Arry? I dun recognize 'er."

I hope he doesn't read the _Daily Prohpet._

"This is Mia Denery. She's just starting this year." Harry said. His eyes widened at my name, and I got a bad feeling.

Please don't recognize my name, please don't recognize my name!

"Mia Denery? That girl who survived the killing curse this summer?" He whispered in shock. Damn.

"Uh, yeah. Nice to meet you Hagrid." I said with a small smile. I held my hand out and he gripped it, roughly shaking it up and down. He let go and I smiled, massaging my hand behind my back.

"Well, you kids ought to get goin' to the carriages. Run along now!" Hagrid shooed us away and strode off towards a large group of first years. I sighed and put my hands back in front of me, still massaging them. I shook my hand and sighed as the pain slowly subsided.

"Good God that man has a grip." I muttered at the ground and stepping into the carriage with Harry, Ron and Hermione. Ron and Harry just laughed while Hermione looked at them. I glanced at her and she shook her head, not understanding what was so funny either.

I personally didn't want to ask, knowing that it probably wasn't actually that funny.

When I felt the carriage start moving, I looked to see what was pulling it and gasped.

It was like a bony leather horse, but with wings. It was ugly yet graceful, and held its head high. I found myself unable to take my eyes away from its bony wings that it had folded against its sides. The horse thing turned its head to look at me, it's glassy pure white eyes boring into mine.

It knew that I was looking at it.

Wouldn't everybody stare at it though? Unless nobody else could see it.

As if to prove my point Hermione looked to where I was staring but raised an eyebrow at me.

"Why are you staring at nothing? Do you see something there?" She asked. I shook my head, still in a trance with it.

"Mia, is something wrong?" Harry asked me, placing a hand on my arm.

"No, nothing. I just... uh.. looking to see what was pulling the carriage!" I blurted out. Brilliant. Freakin' brilliant.

That's the best I could come up with?

It was so obvious that I lied completely. Harry saw through it right away, but Ron and Hermione looked as though they were trying to buy into it.

I put a completely fake smile on my face and pulled out my sketchbook and pencil.

During the few weeks I spent at the Leaky Cauldron I discovered that I love to draw. Harry told me that I was rather good at it, but I would likely still draw if I wasn't good. I started off with small strokes, first sketching the head, then the body, then the legs - guessing what they looked like for the most part - then finally the wings.

I finished the first wing, moving on to the second. I had just finished the outline of the second when Harry snatched the book away from me, looking at it carefully. He looked back up and raised an eyebrow at me.

"So this is what you were looking at." He said. He held it out to me but Ron grabbed it from him and looked at it.

"It's so ugly! Where did you see this?" Ron tossed the book to me. I caught it and frowned at him.

"Yes it's what I was looking at. It's what's pulling the carriages, but I don't know what it's called. And it's not ugly Ron!" I said, my frown getting deeper. Hermione looked at it beside me and smiled lightly.

"That's a very good drawing you know. You never told us you could draw." She complimented. I blushed slightly but went to finishing my drawing.

It wasn't long before the castle came in to view, looking breathtaking in the moonlight. I glanced at the moon, noting how close to being full it is.

With a slight jerk the carriage came to a stop and the horse thing unfurled it's wings, flapping them lightly. I watched it curiously for a few seconds before getting off the carriage and stretching.

I was in a great mood until I noticed Malfoy walking over, looking directly at me. This is going to get interesting rather fast.

He was a few feet away when he turned his attention to Harry, grinning at him.

"Hey Potter, I heard you fainted. Is it true?" He said. His grin grew wider with every word until he held a strong resemblance to a cheshire cat.

"Yeah. Got a problem with that?" Harry spat, glaring daggers at him. Wonderful.

"Not really. I just wish I could have seen it. I heard you passed out too _idiot girl_." He sneered, turning his attention to me. I winced at the 'nickname' my father had for me.

He used it a lot, mainly when he was torturing me or yelling at me for something I couldn't possibly have done. Harry and Ron both noticed my wince and whipped their wands out.

"I did. But it was because I casted a patronus dim wad." I spat, narrowing my eyes at him. Yes it was a lie, but only partly.

I moved my left hand into my pocket, gripping the handle of my wand. I wanted to try and keep magic out of this, but I had zero problem with defending myself.

"Oh did we? Well whoop - de - fu -"

"Mr. Malfoy, I highly suggest not finishing that sentence." Lupin smirked, coming out of nowhere. I couldn't help but grin. I am so going to enjoy this.

"Why hello _professor._" Malfoy spat, looking at Lupin in disgust. "I was just having a small chat with Mia and Potter." He stormed off, his little - okay big - cronies following him.

Prat. What an egotistic, arrogant little prat.

Lupin looked towards me and sighed in mock annoyance, unable to hide the amusement twinkling in his grey eyes.

"Mia, must you cause trouble on your first day?" He inquired.

"Remus, must you keep me from hexing that prat?" I mimicked his tone with a grin on my face. He chuckled lightly and shook his head.

"Actually yes I must. Please, call me Professor Lupin. Or rather you have to call me Professor Lupin." He replied. He looked over at Harry, Ron and Hermione. "Well at least your hanging around with the right group of people."

I raised an eyebrow at him. Was he intending something?

It almost sounded as though he _expected _me to be running around with a group of Death Eater jerks. Honestly after all I've been through he might have figured out I don't want a thing to do with that crowd.

"Something tells me that you couldn't pay her enough to hang around with the Slytherin crowd." Harry grinned. I wasn't sure if that was a compliment or an insult to be honest so I just rolled my eyes.

"He's right. Anyway, Mr. Professor, shouldn't you be heading off to the Great Hall?" I pointed out. I know I should be too, but whatever. Nobody said I couldn't have a little fun.

"Yes, as should you. If I'm correct you need to be sorted still." He smirked before walking off. I cringed at the reminder of sorting, my nerves still at large. The main thing bugging me was the thought of being trapped with the Slytherins which was horrifying thing.

Everybody in my family, excluding my mother, were placed in Slytherin thus improving my odds of going there. Not the most welcoming thought.

I heaved a deep sigh and started the walk towards the school. Harry, Ron and Hermione were all chatting amongst themselves while we walked. A couple of times they tried to drag me into their conversation but I brushed them off each time. Eventually they gave up and stopped trying, although I could sense they were all stealing glances at me.

When we approached the school I smiled lightly to myself.

"Potter, Granger, Denery! Get over here you three!" A woman yelled and ran towards us. I heard Harry groan which wasn't a good sign. "You three, follow me. Hurry off to the Great Hall Weasley, you don't want to be late."

Ron stalked off while the three of us wandered over to her. She led us inside and to the medical wing, having Madame Pomfrey check us over.

The entire time Harry was insisting that he was alright, but she just wouldn't listen.

"Look, Madame Pomfrey I'm fine! Really! If you should check anyone it's Mia!" He said and gestured to me. I shot him a 'you're going to pay for this later' look before trying to ward her off myself.

"I'm fine as well. I only passed out because I casted a patronus!" I insisted and took up the same tone as Harry.

The woman who brought us here - Harry informed me her name was Professor McGonagall - looked at me, slightly shocked as did Madame Pomfrey.

"Oh really? Well that's very interesting. And how did you manage that?" She questioned. Crap. I raised an eyebrow, nodding towards Madame Pomfrey, silently asking if she knew about the gift. The thing even I didn`t know about myself. "Yes, she knows. The entire staff does." She informed me and I sighed.

"I was in this sort of... state I guess you could say. It took over my body when the dementors neared us and casted the spell and I passed out." I absent mindedly twirled a lock of my golden hair around my finger while I was explaining this.

She just nodded and Madame Pomfrey frowned.

"At least have some chocolate or something." She said and walked off to get a bar of chocolate.

"We both already had some." Harry said.

"And who gave you that?"

"Professor Lupin. He was in our compartment when the dementors attacked."

The two witches sighed in defeat and we walked off.

"After all the first years are sorted, you will have to go up too Mia." Professor McGonagall informed me as we hurried out of the hospital and towards the Great Hall. Hermione turned to follow us but McGonagall stopped her and told us that they needed to 'discuss her schedule'.

We were rather discreet when we opened the door. Nobody noticed us because they were all in the middle of singing the school's song.

After a few minutes everybody else other than the Weasley twins were sitting. They were the final ones, practically yelling the lyrics to the song to the tune of a funeral march. When it was just them Dumbledore stood up and began waving his wand around, conducting the two of them with it whilst they sang.

Finally the twins finished and the hall erupted in applause. Including Dumbledore who gave them a standing ovation.

What a very odd man he was.

The hall was alive with chatter and whispering and I saw everybody instantly go silent when Dumbledore stood up. I looked around, assuming that the first years had already been sorted, meaning that it was now my turn.

"Welcome back students for yet another wonderful year here at Hogwarts." Dumbledore greeted, and I could have sworn I heard somebody snort with laughter. "This year I see great things. Now, as all of you know, Sirius Black is currently at large, wanted for escaping Azkaban while he was sent there for a lifelong sentence. Another thing you all know is that he was sent there for killing 12 muggles and one very unlucky wizard, making a very dangerous criminal. We have dementors here to guard the school from him and you must know, they will not hesitate if you provoke them. They are merciless and I advise you to not give them a reason to attack." He said, his face very solemn. He suddenly brightened up and looked towards me. "On a brighter note, we'd like to welcome a new student to the school who is starting in her third year and needs to be sorted. I'd like to welcome Mia Denery up to be sorted." He said. Every set of eyes in the Great Hall turned towards me. Most faces held looks of shock, some of fear, while other just looked bored.

I took a deep breath and stood up. With confidence I didn't truly possess I strode towards the chair and sat down, McGonagall placing the hat on my head.

The hat's presence in my mind was instantly there.

_Ah, what a lovely mind. You are one of the first students I have met where you hold a trait of every single house. _The hat said in my mind. _I could place you in Hufflepuff for your kindness, or Ravenclaw for your thirst for knowledge, or Gryffindor for you large amount of courage and loyalty, or even Slytherin for your anger and hatred towards your father._

_Do I get to choose then?_ I asked hopefully. This definitely changed my chances of ending up in Slytherin for sure.

_Yes. I see great things for you my dear, no matter what house you are in. All I advise you to do is gain control of that gift you hold. If you do that you will be able to rid yourself of the majority of your insecurities. _The hat replied. Well, no doubting that.

_Then... I'd like to be in Gryffindor please. All my friends are there. _I answered him.

"Gryffindor!" The hat shouted and I stood up and practically ran over to the Gryffindor table. I was showered in cheers and claps on the back as I took my seat beside Harry and George.

Dumbledore stood up and gave a slight nod before clapping his hands. The tables were instantly filled with food and drinks.

Harry filled his place beside me and I followed suit, wishing to try a little bit of everything.

"That was rather quick. It didn't seem like the hat had any problems choosing where you were going." Harry said, trying to start a conversation. I shrugged and swallowed my mouthful of mashed potatoes before I answered him.

"Yeah I guess. It actually let me choose where I wanted to go." I replied and a ton of people turned to me. Did I say something wrong?

"He did! He never lets people choose. How did you manage that?" Ron said through a mouthful of food. I frowned at him before replying.

"He said that I had traits from every single house and that it wouldn't have mattered where he put me." I said and went back to eating, aware that everybody's eyes lingered on me. I guess that it's abnormal to have that, but come on people!

It was odd, I could tell that all around the room, people were looking at me. Probably just because of what they read in the _Daily Prophet_. I still say that it was a huge mistake letting that out. Had they not done that, I would have had such an easier time.

Hermione finally came in and sat beside me. She gave me a large hug and said that she was glad that I made it into Gryffindor. I smiled at her and continued eating.

"Where were you Hermione?" Ron asked as she piled food onto her plate.

"Discussing my schedule. I'm taking every class." She said with pride, taking a large bite of her steak.

"Every class? Blimey Hermione, you're not going to be doing anything but homework." Ron exclaimed, his mouth full of food yet again. He sprayed all the people surrounding him in a slight shower of potatoes and steak.

"Yes every class. I will be able to manage you know." She frowned and finished eating before standing up and heading back to her dorm.

I stared in shock. I had just barely gotten into the school. Dumbledore had me trying to catch up to the people in my year the entire summer. I was rather close, but taking every class the school offers? That probably isn't even humanly possible.

I glanced at Harry to see if he was shocked at all. Oddly enough he just shrugged and continued on with his meal.

"Harry do you really think she can handle all that? I mean, it is an awful lot. I've been trying to catch up to you guys all summer." I set my fork down having finished my meal and stood up. Harry and Ron had both just finished and were following my lead and stood up.

"She's the top of our year. I know she'll be able to handle it, I just don't know if she'll be able to handle it well." He replied. "Have you had any luck though with catching up? A week ago you were half way through your second year, so I wasn't totally sure."

I'm close. Only have to do a little bit more reading, that's all. Dumbledore knows that he couldn't assign me projects that involved writing, because I was unable too, just like I was unable to count. Harry and Hermione were both tackling these problems by giving me lessons every day for at least an hour a night each. One for writing and one for math.

What amazed them was the fact that I could read, but was unable to write even my own name. The thing was I didn't even know how. To be honest I wasn't much of a fast reader, and often needed some help to comprehend exactly what it was that I was reading.

I often went to Harry but now I go to any of the three. Ron rarely, only because when I go to him it's more out of desperation.

"I'm close. By the way, do you mind helping me later tonight with some of my work? I'm having trouble with one of the Defense Against the Dark Arts chapters." I whispered so nobody else could hear. We were talking about these things in a rather hushed tone.

It's perfectly understandable that I would rather not have people knowing about my problems. Luckily I found a special quill that makes my writing so it's legible, changing it from its usual chicken scratch to neat curvy handwriting. I was also given special permission, so I can even use it for tests.

"Sure. How about when we get back, I can show you in our room." He replied and I nodded.

Ron just ended up walking ahead of us to catch up with Hermione.

I looked at them, tilting my head to the side a bit. They would make a rather good couple. I'm pretty sure Hermione has a crush on him, but why I cannot understand.

"You think so two, huh." Harry smirked, noticing that I was staring at them. I frowned slightly in hopes he would elaborate more on this. "I mean, the two of them as a couple. They've been my best friends for two years, it's hard not to notice their feelings towards each other." I chuckled.

"Definitely. I mean, I've known them for maybe a month and I can already tell. Yet they are so oblivious themselves." I said sadly with a slight shake of my head.

Harry chuckles and we enter the Common Room, instantly going up to Harry's room. Luckily it's empty and we get onto his bed and close up the sides, adding a Silencing Charm and Invisibility Charm so nobody can see or hear us.

...***...

"Now, if you add 34 and 20 you get..." Harry asked, motioning with his hands to continue on. I counted in my head, thinking about it.

If you add three and two you get five... so if you add 30 and 20 you get 50. Add the four and it's...

"Oh! 54!" I exclaim.

I'm finally beginning to really understand adding, even though I can still barely do simple equations.

"Yes! Great job." He said with a grin. I mirror it and pull out my paper, preparing to start more difficult adding. "Okay, so I want you to add three numbers together. Add 15, 27, and 120."

I raised an eyebrow at him, but set it up. So first put the one down... add the one and two and you get three plus another two is five... add five and seven... 12... add it all together...

"162?" I answered, hesitating slightly. He beamed and nodded as he pulled me into a hug.

"I'm so proud you! Your making incredible progress!" He exclaimed. I smiled and checked my watch, shocked by the time.

"Oh, wow. It's already 11:15. I really ought to get to bed." I muttered and sighed, sneaking out the room.

I walked in and noticed Hermione sitting there with her nose in a book. Slowly I made my way towards the bed and plopped down on it.

She glanced at me and smiled softly, closing it up.

"Good lesson?" She asked. I nodded and then realized.

"Crap... I forgot to ask Harry about the Defense Against the Dark Arts stuff that I didn't understand. Mind coming over and helping me?" I said, practically begging her. She sighed and walked over, beginning the process of trying to explain it to me.

...***...

A/N: I hope you guys liked it!

You got to experience what it's like for Mia during her math lessons xP

Up next, you may or may not be getting the first DADA lesson... *cough cough wink wink*

Rose xx


	7. Chapter 7

_I do not own Harry Potter_

...*******...

Slowly opening my eyes I found myself face down on the cold wooden floor. Not my bed.

I shot up, jumping my to me feet only to slip and tumble back down to the ground.

Really?

Faint noises of laughter rang out in the room and I looked over to Hermione, Parvarti and Lavender, all with their hands over their mouths to muffle their laughter. I frowned at them and shook my head. Stupid jerks, that's so mean to laugh.

Even if it was funny.

I sighed and slipped my robes over my head and gave my hair a quick brush, only glancing in the mirror. I had to make sure they didn't secretly do something to my face, which luckily they didn't. At least I don't think so. They better not have...

When I got downstairs I headed into the Great Hall and I saw almost everybody else was there. I stumbled over to Harry and sat down next to him and Ron, placing my head on my arms in front of me.

"What's up with you? You look like a zombie!" Ron exclaimed when he looked at me. I tilted my head to the side and glared at him.

"Ron, I'm going to warn you here and now, if you ever manage to get a girlfriend never say that to her. Ever." I warned and snuggled into my arms, using them as a pillow.

He frowned at me but continued on with his meal.

Hermione came in soon after and sat next to me, cheerful as always.

"Are you guys excited for today?" She said, too cheerily for my likings. What was today?

"Definitely!"

"Can't wait!"

They all looked to me and I shrugged, unsure of what they were talking about.

"What's today?" I asked and they all started to laugh. Gosh people, I know I'm funny and all but come on! "What's so funny?" I pouted and they slowly stopped laughing.

"It's our first Defense Against the Dark Arts class! The one you were so excited about." Harry said as the last of his laughs died down. My jaw dropped and I smacked myself in the forehead.

"Seriously?" I groaned. Today, of all days, was the class I was most excited for, and I was practically a zombie.

Last night was harsh. I was having nightmares all night long and the oddest thing was when I woke up, I`d never remember what it was about.

The entire meal I just sat there, not really moving much with my eyes closed.

"Mia are you sure you're not going to eat anything?" Hermione asked as she finished eating. I nodded and stood up as well, stretching myself out.

"What's first?" I asked. I didn't really feel like pulling out my schedule just to check.

"Double Potions." Harry replied sounding rather sad about it. I raised an eyebrow at him, silently asking why he sounded sad. "Snape is the potions master. He hates me for no reason and always favors Slytherin." He frowned.

I looked at Ron and Hermione for confirmation and they both nodded.

"Just wonderful." I muttered darkly, heading off to the dungeon with them.

...*******...

I closed my eyes, preparing for the onslaught of yelling that was about to come.

Neville had managed to blow his potion up, yet again, and melt his third cauldron. I couldn't help but feel bad for the poor kid. Snape's hatred Neville more than he hated Harry, and that's saying something. Snape constantly looked for an excuse to mock him or take house points away.

Snape's eyes snapped up from his newspaper and he searched the room for the origins of the large explosion.

His eyes soon landed on poor Neville who was standing there covered in a thick layer of soot. His mouth curved into a twisted grin and he stood up and strode over to Neville's work station.

"Mr. Longbottom. I see you failed to concoct even the simplest of potions. Shame. I take away 5 points for not following instructions and 10 points for away for the immense amount of damage you caused." He said, tapping everything with his wand. Malfoy and his cronies were sitting in the corner shaking with silent laughter.

I balled my hands into fists but kept my mouth shut, not wanting to lose any more points for Gryffindor. Harry opened his mouth but I grabbed his hand and shook my head.

"Not. A. Word." I whispered as he looked at me.

Snape spun around to face us and I groaned silently. I've been here for a day and he already hates me because I'm good at potions. It's enjoyable even though this is my first time ever actually brewing one.

"Mr. Potter, do you wish to say something to me?" He said in his oily voice. I closed my eyes just Like I had with Neville, sensing that this would not end well.

"Actually, yes I do. Personally I think it's unfair what you do and how you pick on individual students." Harry said, narrowing his eyes at Snape.

Great job Harry, you just gave Snape a reason to take points away from us.

"Is that so. Ten points from Gryffindor for back sassing a teacher."

"Idiot." I muttered under my breath.

Snape spun around again to face us.

"Did you just call me an idiot Miss Denery?" Snape challenged, raising an eyebrow at me.

Is he really going to try and provoke me, knowing about what happened over the summer? Does this guy have a death wish or does he just hate me with a passion.

"No, I was calling Harry an idiot for losing us house points." I replied. Snape chuckled and walked back to his desk, returning to his newspaper.

"I must say then Miss Denery that I agree with you." Snape replied in what sounded like an almost nice tone.

Unbelievable! Most of the time Professors are supposed to punish people, not like I'm complaining, not freaking agree with them!

Harry rolled his eyes and smacked my arm lightly and we returned to brewing our potion. Luckily Hermione was right beside Neville and she was discreetly giving him pointers by writing them out, and somehow he managed to properly brew the potion.

It took another ten minutes though, but Harry and I too finished, properly brewing the simple potion.

"Each pair is to collect a single vile of their potion, label it and hand it in to me to be marked. Go." Snape said.

When we were finally out, I breathed a sigh of relief at finally being out.

"You weren't kidding when you said Snape was evil. Poor Neville, he picked on him constantly." I said miserably, dragging my feet through the hallways.

Hermione nodded and we walked to the Common Room to gather up our homework and books. This morning Harry helped me finish my Defense Against the Dark Arts, and I was very close to being completely caught up with the rest of my year. In Defense Against the Dark Arts only though, I still need to work on my Herbology and Charms.

After a brief check through I gathered up everything and dumped it into my bag. Ron was already down there waiting for us, telling us to Hurry up.

Him and Harry were the most excited I had ever seen them when we were walking towards the classroom.

"What's the big show of having a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher? Doesn't it happen every year?" I asked.

"This one seems like he actually knows what he's doing!" Ron exclaimed and ran the rest of the way to class.

I rolled my eyes and turned towards Hermione who was also thinking what I was.

I mean, the first year there was a guy who had Voldemort on the back of his freakin' head, then last year was Gilderoy Lockhart, the idiot who had an ego too big for his head. My father threw me down a book of his one time and I read it. It was rather amusing what he claimed to do.

"At least it got them excited for class." I said with a shrug.

Hermione smirked and we walked the rest of the way to class, only to see everybody else was already there.

...*******...

"Now that we have everybody, let's get started." Lupin began. "Welcome to your first Defense Agai - Peeves what might you be doing?" He asked, glancing over at Peeves. He was sticking a wad of gum into the keyhole of the small broom closet, likely to annoy Filch.

"Nothing, nothing at all!" He said as he continued with stuffing the wad of gum into the keyhole.

"You know Peeves, if you continue with that Filch will be very angry." Lupin said.

When Peeves finally had the gum stuck in there enough he admired his work before turning to face Lupin and chant 'Looney Lupin, Looney Lupin' over and over. He waited for Lupin to give a reaction but he merely smiled and pulled out his wand.

"Class, I want you to watch this. This is a very useful spell." He said and turned to Peeves. He pointed his wand towards the doorknob and yelled, "_Waddiwassi!_".

The wad of gum quickly flew out of the door knob with a loud _crack _and went right up the poltergeist's nose. Shouting a sea of profanities at Lupin Peeves flew off.

The entire class turned to their new professor, gaping. None of us were expecting that to happen.

"That was awesome Professor!" One of the Ravenclaw boys exclaimed, smiling at him.

"Why thank you Lisa. Now how about we get started with this class." He said with a slight nod. He made a gesture with his hand towards a large black wardrobe that was rocking violently back and forth.

The majority of the class took a step back, preferring to look at it from afar.

"No need to worry. It's just a boggart. Anybody care to tell me what that is?" He asked, glancing around the class looking for hands. Hermione raised hers and Lupin nodded to her, "Yes Miss Granger."

"A boggart is a shape-shifter. It takes the shape of whatever frightens a person the most," Hermione said, "That's why no one really knows what they look like. It's different with every person who encounters it."

"Correct Miss Granger. Can anybody tell me why we find a boggart in here," He said and patted the old wooden wardrobe beside him, "In here rather that out where we all are?"

I hesitated but raised me hand, recalling on my memory for the answer. He nodded towards me.

"Alright Mia." He called on me with a rather cheerful grin.

"Because boggarts prefer dark and enclosed spaces suck as wardrobes, closets and shelves." I answered and hoped that it was correct.

"Very good! Let's see here... Harry, can you tell me why we have an advantage over our little friend in here?" Lupin asked, patting the wardrobe once again.

"Uh," He started, not expecting to be called on, "Because everybody standing here has a different fear."

I'm rather sure that Hermione helped him out there, but I'm not making any accusations.

"Correct. And now I need a volunteer for this part. How about you Neville! Come on up here." He said and pulled Neville up to the front. "Before we start actual spell casting, we're just going to learn the spell. Now, the spell is _Riddikulus_. This spell has two parts though. When you say the spell, you are to imagine whatever the boggart turned into, with something ridiculous on it. Something that will make the class laugh, for laughter is the main weakness of a boggart."

Neville glanced around nervously with his hand clamped onto his wand tightly.

I wonder why Lupin chose Neville of all people to take the first turn with the boggart.

"Neville. This is where you come in. Now I want you to tell me what your worst fear is." Lupin said.

It's likely hard for him to choose, considering how many things scare him. He looked down at his shoes and muttered something incoherent.

"What did you say? Speak up now."

"Snape!" Neville blurted out. The entire class erupted in laughter. If I was Neville Snape would definitely be one of my worst fears as well.

"I see. I want you now to imagine something for me." Lupin smirked.

"Okay..."

"I want you to imagine Snape, wearing your grandmother's clothing." Lupin grinned.

The small part of the class who had seen Neville's grandmother's clothing were roaring with laughter, already able to imagine it.

I couldn't wait to see this.

"O-okay." He stuttered, trying to imagine that.

"Neville, what does your grandmother wear?"

"A really fluffy pink and purple blazer and matching skirt... and a large hat." Neville answered.

"Anything else?"

"Oh and a large matching purse!" Neville exclaimed. The entire classroom was now rolling on the floor with laughter. Lupin just smirked at our childish antics and told us to quiet down so that we could really start.

"Alright. Now before we do anything, I want all of you to repeat after me without your wand. Ready? _Riddikulus!_"

"_Riddikulus!_" The whole class cried. He nodded and strode over to the wardrobe.

"I need all of you to back up against the walls, so that we do not confuse the boggart when we take our turns one at a time. So everybody back up, everybody except you Neville. You take our wand out, and when I tell you, say the spell." He instructed.

Everybody instantly lined up, pushing and shoving to be near the front. Without even trying I was the fourth one in line, ready to head up and take my turn.

Lupin pulled open the door and jumped out of the way, and the boggart suddenly jumped out of the wardrobe looking like Snape.

"_R-Riddikulus!_" Neville shouted, and Snape suddenly was wearing the exact outfit Neville described. The entire room roared with laughter and even Lupin laughed. Neville smiled and walked to the back of the line, allowing the next person in line up.

Seamus Finnigan took his turn, wand at the ready. The thing quickly transformed into a large troll, glaring at Seamus. I plugged my nose, trying to rid myself of the awful stench. It lifted its club but Seamus was faster and with a cry of, "_Riddikulus_" the troll was suddenly wearing a flowery skirt, pearl necklace and pink high heels.

This time Lavender stood up, looking rather nervous. She already knew exactly what was coming.

A giant cobra then appeared and hissed at her. She glared at it and cried out, "_Riddikulus!_" and the cobra suddenly became all different shakes of pink and red.

Ron too seemed to know exactly what was coming as he stepped up, shaking with fear. Poor kid. He took a step back when the boggart changed into a ginormous spider.

Why does it turn into large things only? Not normal sized things.

I gave him a smack in the head and he came to his senses, shouting "_Riddikulus_" giving the spider a new pair of roller skates.

Finally it was my turn. I took my spot and the boggart was absorbed into a strong wind, spinning around until it revealed my worst fear.

Myself.

People all around the room gasped and Lupin attempted to step in, but the boggart merely blew him away. Even if that thing looked like me, it had a malicious smile on its face that I have never seen on my own.

Extending its hands a huge amount of wind exploded from its palms, blowing the entire class off to the side while sending me flying off to the other end of the classroom where I smacked into the wall, crumpling to the ground. My wand flew out of my hand and clatter to the ground on the other end of the room, making me completely defenseless.

"Even if you don't know it," The thing said, in a cold sneering tone, "your worst fear is yourself. You scared of your gift, scared of hurting those around you. And for good reason."

I sat up and tried to stand, but felt my knees begin to buckle.

"No." I said defiantly. But deep down, I knew that the thing was right.

"Oh yes. You're a monster. People keep calling it a gift, but you look at it like a curse." It said.

I clamped my hands over my ears, not wanting to hear any more.

"You are scared to hurt your friends, and look around. You are hurting them. Your worst fears are true." It continued.

"No!" I screamed, over and over.

No! No! I'm not a monster! I'm not!

"Don't try and deny it," it said, as though it could read my thoughts, "you know that I can't lie, for I am you." Its eyes began glowing, and its hair flew around it.

"You're lying!" I continued to scream. All of my classmates were pinned to the side walls, the wind around them still as fierce as when it started.

The thing strode over to me, and grabbed my neck, holding me against the wall. I gripped onto its hand and tried to break its grip from my neck. Nothing!

"You are weak. You are just a waste of space. Just like your father said. Who knew, he was right all these years." It said with a grin. An evil, joyless grin.

I had no strength left to deny it anymore. It was completely right.

Just to prove its point, it grabbed my hand and snapped it clean in half.

I cried out, pain exploding in my entire arm.

"Yes, it hurts. You are too weak to stop me. Too weak to help protect your friends." It whispered in my ear, its breath hot on my face.

I felt hopeless. Then, I heard a yell of _Riddikulus_ from who I assumed was Lupin and everything stopped. I crumpled to the ground, and felt sobs rise in my throat.

During all that, my classmates had to watch. Watch my weakness.

I stood up, using the wall to support me, and saw everybody crowding around me. Harry put my good arm around his shoulder and helped support me with standing.

Lupin rushed over and assessed my damage. Looking at my face, he could tell that right now I just needed to let it out. He smiled and said that I was excused from class for the rest of the day, and to not worry about homework. He also asked Harry to help take me to the hospital wing.

The bell went and the rest of the class filed out, leaving just Harry, Lupin and I.

"Are you alright?" Lupin asked softly, helping Harry sit me down in a chair.

"Yeah it's just my wrist." I said, looking down at the ground.

"I mean, are you alright mentally." He didn't push it when I didn't answer him thankfully. He just sighed and gave me one piece of advice. "The only thing I think you should do right now would be research your gift. I also want you to talk to Harry about this, because I see you won't talk to me. Not that I expect you to."

I looked up and gave him a small smile, and opened my arms. He wasn't exactly sure what I meant by it until I reached out and hugged him. He seemed surprised but hugged me back.

"Thank you." I said, my voice slightly muffled. He nodded and gave me a smile.

"You're welcome. Now you should really get going, get that wrist of yours fixed up."

I stood up with help from Harry and with that we left the room.

...*******...

"Your wrist is completely snapped in half! However did this happen?" Madame Pomfrey asked me.

"I... uh... slipped going down the stairs and tried to stop myself with my wrist." Smooth. She didn't believe me, but went with it, sparing me the story.

"Alright. This shouldn't take too long." She said, and placed a potion soaked bandage over my wrist. "If you want you may leave, or you can stay in here."

"I think I'm going to leave. Thank you." I said before getting up and walking towards the common room.

I ran through the halls as I felt the tears coming on, and I wanted to be in the common room when they began to spill over.

"Password?"

"Fortuna Major."

The painting swung open and I ran inside, collapsing onto the large couch there. Harry wasn't far behind me.

In seconds he was inside the common room too, and sat down beside me on the couch. I turned towards him and felt his arms wrap around me and I sobbed into his shoulder.

I just cried, and cried and cried.

And pretty soon, there were no more tears left.

"Feeling better?" He asked. I looked, and noticed that I ended up on his lap, with my face in the crook of his neck. Even though he couldn't notice, I felt myself blush slightly.

Why am I blushing? It's Harry! He's my friend. Friend.

"A little." I murmured. "Everybody's scared of me now... I guess."

I felt Harry stiffen slightly.

"Nobody's scared of you. Didn't you see how worried they all were about you?"

I just shook my head. He didn't look into their eyes.

"Yeah, they acted worried, but if you looked into their eyes, fear was in their eyes." I said, sniffling. His arms around me tightened and I melted into him. "I-I am a m-monster."

This is a new feeling. It's a warm feeling in my heart. It's nice.

"You're not a monster." He whispered in my ear, giving my chills. "All you need to do is learn to control that gift of yours, something I promise to help you with."

"Thanks." I murmured, and I felt him pull away.

I felt sad when I didn't have his arms around me anymore. What is wrong with me? He looked at me, looking worried still.

"You sure you're alright?" He asked, placing a hand on my arm.

"Yeah." I replied, giving him a weak smile. Before he could say anything else I ran upstairs and into my room.

What is going on? I've never felt this before.

Could... could I have a crush on Harry?

...*******...

A/N: Cliffy!

...

is it?

Whatever. So I finally got to the first D.A.D.A class... and yea. I hope you like. Oh, and if you haven't noticed I'm trying to make the chapters longer now, because slowly there's more and more going on.

I'm probably going to start with Quidditch in the next chapter, sooo. Yeah.

Thanks for reading guys!

Rose xx


	8. Chapter 8

_I do not own Harry Potter_

...***...

I trudged through the thick forest, following Hagrid to where he was leading us. Mud squished under my feet as I walked.

Today we had our first Care of Magical Creatures class, and I was actually excited. It'd been two weeks since what happened in Defense Against the Dark Arts and rumors were in full force, circulating throughout the school. Oddly enough though very few of them were bad. Most of them were how cool it was or how strong I probably am.

Yet there are always the ones that originate from Slytherin that called me an out of control monster, or that I was mentally unstable and that they already had me a special room in St. Mungo's.

Every single time we passed them I tried my best to not let them get to me but they got worse.

Malfoy was horrid though. He would call me a monster, a murderer and a danger to every single person in the school. Harry tried to comfort me by holding my hand to reassure me.

As we walked through the forest I could hear Malfoy talking with his cronies behind me. He was mainly complaining about how Hagrid was going to be teaching and it was really getting on our nerves.

"I can't believe they're letting this big oaf teach. It's disgraceful. I mean, my father already said this school was going downhill but this is just horrible." Malfoy complained loudly behind Harry, Ron and I.

I clenched my jaw and turned around, glaring at him.

"Oh shut up Malfoy. Nobody cares what you or your father think." I growled. He stopped talking and looked directly at me. Shock was written all over his face, not use to being spoken to like that.

He shook his head and sneered, "Nobody cares what a monster like you says. Your just filth like that little mudblood friend of yours."

I raised an eyebrow and Harry grabbed my hand, dragging me away. Even as I was pulled away I could hear Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle laughing at their 'smart' reply.

"Harry why didn't you let me at least punch him in the nose?" I asked in disbelief.

"Because you would have gotten in trouble! Just ignore them." He said and gave my hand a squeeze.

I gave a small smile and we continued on with walking until we reached a clearing.

Hagrid was already standing in the clearing along with two large creatures. They were covered in multi-coloured feathers, one red, orange and brown and the other grey, white and light blue. They had the hind legs of a horse, but the beak, wings, front legs and steely eyes of an eagle.

"What are those?" I wondered out loud, not really expecting an answer.

"Hippogriff. Half griffin half mare." Hermione said, suddenly appearing beside me. I jumped slightly and stared at her.

"When did you get here? I didn't see you in the group!" Harry and Ron were both surprised to see her there as well.

"What are you talking about? I've been here the entire time." She scoffed and turned her attention to Hagrid.

I opened my mouth to retort but Hagrid cleared his throat and began the lesson.

"Alrighty. So, uh, welcome to yer' first lesson. We're goin ter have a hands on lesson first, with these two Hippogriffs." Hagrid said, shifting uncomfortably. "Now, Hippogriffs are very proud creatures, and aren't ones to cross. Don' go insultin 'em cause it might very well be the last thing you do." Hagrid warned, looking directly at Malfoy. "When you approach them you have ter bow, very low too, and wait for them to bow back ter you. If they bow back you are allowed to approach them and give their beak a pat." He said and demonstrated with the grey and white Hippogriff. "These two, Buckbeak and Azia are mates. To approach one, you have ter get permission from both. Volunteers... volunteers... how about 'Arry and Mia! You two come here." Hagrid said.

I hesitated, but felt Ron give me a slight shove forward.

Hagrid put a hand on each of our shoulders in a form or reassurance.

"Mia, yer goin' with Azia and 'Arry yer wit Buckbeak. Go on now, bow both of you." Hagrid said and we both bowed deeply.

Wow, she's so pretty. Her feather's remind me of flames in a way.

_Thank you child. _A melodical voice said in my head. I almost jumped, but knew better than that. I didn't want to startle them.

Are you Azia?

_Yes. You may approach, but slowly. _She replied. I moved up from my bow and to see that she was bowing deeply in front of me. Taking small, slow steps I stepped up to her. She lowered her head and allowed me to stroke her beak.

Thank you for allowing me to approach you. Is it possible for me to talk to Buckbeak as well?

_Your welcome child. And yes, I believe it is. _I felt another presence enter my mind that I assumed was Buckbeak.

Hello child. He said, and I smiled.

Hello Buckbeak. Thank you for allowing my friend Harry to approach you.

Buckbeak gave a slight nod and I could see Harry staring at me oddly. I shrugged and smiled. Suddenly I felt Hagrid behind me, lifting me into the air and onto Azia.

He turned and did the same to Harry. The difference was Harry protested, while I was happy to get to ride her.

Please don't drop me Azia!

_Don't you worry child, if I did that Hagrid wouldn't be too happy._ She said and gave what I assumed was a slight chuckle.

"Hold on tight Harry!" I shouted as the two Hippogriffs sprinted off and stretched out their mighty wings, taking off into the air.

Harry closed his eyes and gripped Buckbeak's neck, and shouted back, "I don't have much of a choice!"

I laughed and lightened my grip on Azia's neck.

The sensation of flying is incredible. It's like being weightless, soaring through the skies and reaching for the clouds. I glanced over at Harry and grinned, seeing he was enjoying this just as much as I was. As we flew over the water Azia went into a steep dive, pulling up feet away from the water.

She lowered one of her feet, skimming the water with it. Buckbeak was doing the same thing with Harry, and I saw Harry was sitting up, arms stretched out to the side, hollering. I laughed and did the same thing as him, throwing my head back and yelling as loud as I could.

_Having fun?_ Azia asked sounding rather amused.

Yes! You're so lucky you get to do this often.

She laughed and I held onto her neck again.

_If you thought that was fun, try this. Hold on very tightly child. _She instructed and I held on.

Before I knew it she shot up, climbing in altitude. When we reached the peak of it she went leveled out before going into a corkscrew dive, plummeting back down to the earth.

I screamed in a mixture of joy and fear. This lasted for ten seconds she pulled up, flying side by side with Buckbeak. I looked down and saw the clearing, everybody looking up at us in awe.

_Here we go. We're about to land._ She said and we glided down. Hagrid rushed over to us once we landed and first pulled Harry off, then me.

I went to go back into the crowd, but saw Malfoy rushing over, going right to Buckbeak.

"This is easy. If Potter can do it, then anybody can. You're rather ugly aren't you? Nothing scary about you." Malfoy sneered as he practically ran up to Buckbeak. Buckbeak boiled with anger and reared onto his hind legs, clawing at Malfoy's arms.

Before Buckbeak could do further damage I ran in front of Malfoy.

"Buckbeak no!" I shouted at him, squaring my shoulders.

Move away child! I must kill him! Buckbeak roared in my head and reared back. I didn't back off though, not allowing him to intimidate me.

"Buckbeak, if you hurt him Hagrid will get in trouble!" I shouted again, and this time he calmed down a bit more.

He deserves to die! Buckbeak was still angry, but I could tell that he wouldn't get Hagrid in trouble for it.

"No. He's not worth it Buckbeak!" I said, lowering my voice. He pawed at the ground in frustration but backed away nonetheless.

Hagrid ran up behind me and picked Malfoy up, running towards the school with him.

I turned around to see that every single person was staring directly at me. Blushing slightly I walked back into the crowd, standing in between Harry, Ron and Hermione.

...***...

"What happened back there?" Hermione asked me the second we entered the common room.

I sighed, knowing that they would ask me. Ron and Harry were both looking at me expectantly, wanting to know this too.

"I don't really know," I looked around the room to make sure it was empty, "but all that I know is that the Hippogriffs were talking to me in my head."

When I said that it hit me how odd that sounds. I sounded absolutely mental.

To be honest, I didn't actually expect them to believe me.

"That's so cool! How come you never told us that you could do that?" Ron exclaimed looking rather excited.

I frowned at him and rolled my eyes and Hermione smacked him in the arm.

"I just found out when I was approaching Azia. She just suddenly entered my thoughts and we started talking. It's also how I was talking to Buckbeak when he attacked Malfoy." I explained, making my way over to the plush velvet couch.

Harry sat down beside me, putting an arm around my shoulders.

Ever since _that night_ we hadn't really been alone at all. Hermione started giving me all my lessons because Quidditch started, so Harry has no more time to teach me.

I smiled and pulled my legs to my chest, resting me chin on my knees.

"I wonder," I murmured, "if this has anything to do with my gift."

Harry looked over at me.

"It's possible. Have you been looking for it in that book?"

"Yeah. I'm half way through the book and I haven't found a thing yet."

There have been a few things, but this new development might make it easier to distinguish it. My eyes widened when I remembered.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked sounding worried. I shot up to my room, grabbed the large book and brought it back down with me.

"This. I think this might be it, even though it's not really a gift." I said and pointed to one I'm thinking of.

_**The Aura**_

_The Aura is where a witch has been blessed by Mother Nature herself._

_Said witch will be gifted with an extraordinarily large amount of magical power, more so_

_than the average witch. It is a very rare gift, but is also very difficult to control the_

_immense power that comes with it. The only known way to control it is by wearing_

_one of the six elemental sapphires, but only one of them is known to still exist._

_In old times people given Her blessing would be referred to as royalty, and in some_

_places were even worshipped at times._

_Witches with her blessing are able to mentally talk with animals, but once it gets_

_stronger they can talk out loud with animals and understand what they are_

_saying._

_A mental connection can also be established with whoever shares true love_

_with a somebody gifted with this. In rare cases the mental connection goes_

_as far as sharing dreams with one another._

I finished reading it, closing the book quietly.

All three of them were staring at me with their mouths hanging open.

"I think I need to talk to Dumbledore." I murmured before standing up and walking out of the common room.

...***...

I strode through the halls of the school directly to where Dumbledore said his office was. Outside of it I found Professor McGonagall on her way out of the office, and she turned to me.

"Miss Denery, why might you be here?" She asked.

"I need to see Dumbledore Professor," I said, but explained further when she gave me a doubtful expression, "it has to do with my gift."

She automatically nodded and went back towards the office and approached the gargoyles.

I wonder if Dumbledore warned them that this might happen.

"Lemon Drops." She said and the wall disappeared, revealing a large winding stairwell. "Go on now, it's just up those stairs." She said and gave me an encouraging smile. This is the first time I've ever seen her smile. I nodded and walked over to the stairwell, the wall appearing behind me again when I was at the stairwell.

I made my way up the large amount of stairs and found myself at a large oak door. Lifting my hand I went to knock, but let it fall back at my side when I heard somebody say 'come in' from inside the office.

Slowly I opened the door and saw Dumbledore sitting at his desk, looking expectantly at me. I walked in and sat down in the chair across from him.

"I assume you've already figured out why I'm here." I stated.

"Yes. I'm guessing that you've figured out my guess and wish to speak to me about it?" He folded his hands on his desk and peered at me over his half-moon glasses.

"What is the last remaining elemental sapphire?" I blurted out, the question being the first thing that entered my mind.

I felt that it was rather important I knew this.

This sapphire is the only thing that could help me with controlling this power and whether or not I control it isn't an option.

"Ah, the final sapphire. Its most commonly referred to as the dark sapphire. Back when the sapphire were first created darkness was considered an element like fire, earth, water and air." He explained.

"But, in the book it says six elemental sapphires. What's the last one?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows together.

"What few people know is that there are actually two remaining. Just as darkness was considered an element, so was light. Many people believed that the light sapphire was destroyed along with the others, but it was not. A young witch who was also blessed stole it and used it herself. It's still in existence today, but very few people are aware of this."

I nodded, feeling my confusion fade.

How was I going to get one of these though? Considering that the world knows it as the last remaining elemental sapphire, it's likely in a museum or guarded.

I voiced my concerns to Dumbledore, but he smiled.

"When the time is right, you will be given this answer." He said. "That book of yours is very useful you know. When did you manage to figure your gift out?"

"Not very long ago. This afternoon at Care of Magical Creatures I found myself able to talk to the animals. When I got back to the common room it dawned on me that I'd actually completely passed over it." I smirked but it faded. "How did you know about the book?"

He chuckled and picked up a small picture, showing and turning it towards me.

The old woman who I met at the store and gave it to me was the woman in the picture!

"The woman who gave it to you is an old friend of mine. She's also a well-known Seer, a very good one too. She told me about meeting you the day after you were there and about the book. It confirmed my suspicions of what your gift was too." He sighed and looked at the clock. "You should be getting back to your common room now, your friends might be getting worried."

He smiled and nodded towards the door. I hesitated but I stood up and walked over to the door.

"Thank you." I said over my shoulder before I walked out, practically running back to my common room.

...***...

I approached the Fat Lady, and saw she was already asleep.

Gosh, could it really be that late?

"Hello?" I asked, tapping on the painting.

She snorted in her sleep, jumping slightly at hearing me.

"Password?" She asked lazily.

"Fortuna Major." I replied and waited for the painting to swing open.

She frowned and swung open, revealing Harry.

He was sitting on the couch, fast asleep.

Had I really been gone that long?

I walked over to him and gave his shoulders a slight shake, waking him up. He stirred and looked around.

"Wha?" He mumbled. I giggled and sat down beside him, pulling my knees to my chest again, closing my eyes.

"Sorry for waking you up. Just figured you might want to sleep in your bed tonight." I said and gave a lazy smirk.

He looked at me and shook his head.

"I think I'm going to stay down here for a while." He said and peered down at his paper on the table. "Oh... I still have to finish this anyways." He muttered and picked up his quill, beginning on the essay before him.

I smiled to myself as I listened to the scratching of the quill traveling across the parchment.

Every few minutes it would pause for a second before resuming until he had finished.

"And now to re-write it." He muttered but I held his hand, pulling out my wand.

"_Cultus_." I murmured, pointing my wand at the parchment. Instantly all the writing on it became much neater and all the mistakes were corrected.

Harry stared at me in awe, knowing that the spell I just performed is a year ahead of ours.

"How did you know that?" He asked as I put my wand away in its pocket.

I shrugged, not feeling like giving a proper answer. To be truthful I wasn't exactly sure myself. I likely just read it while I read my book and memorized it.

"I dunno." I murmured, my eyes still glued to the fire.

I loved watching the flames sizzle and crack, licking the log eagerly.

The mix of colours always peaked my imagination and I had a lot of really interesting drawings of flames in my sketch book.

For a few minutes we sat in silence, each one waiting for the other to say something. It wasn't exactly awkward, but it's not what I'd call comfortable either really.

"You alright? You seem sort of depressed." He finally asked. I sighed and looked over to him, a frown on my face.

I didn't feel like explaining everything that went on. It was still important for him to know though considering he's my friend.

"To be honest, no I'm not exactly alright. I just have a lot on my mind right now." I said and the frown disappeared from my face. He looked into my weary eyes and pulled me into a hug.

Whoa, not expecting that.

After a second I hugged him back, and we sat there in that position. I rested my head on his shoulder while he placed his chin on my head. This is a lot like our position_that night_. Like I said, we hadn't exactly had much time alone ever since then.

"You can talk to me you know. I make a very good listener." He mused. I looked up at him, raising my eyebrow. I couldn't tell whether or not he was being serious.

I placed my head back on his shoulder and explained everything I Dumbledore told me, finishing with the sapphires. "He talked about it like he knew exactly where both sapphires were located, and that frustrates me! I need one of those, otherwise... otherwise I might lose control at any second."

I'd never really ever felt insecure with myself like I do now. The only time these feelings surfaced were when I talked about my life at home, or about my gift. All those times with Harry.

To him I probably look like an insecure teenage girl.

"Somehow I don't think you will. Since you came to Hogwarts you haven't lost control once. You haven't even come close." He said thoughtfully, gazing at the fire like I do sometimes.

"Doesn't mean I won't." I whispered and gazed down at my hands on my lap. Harry grabbed one of them, holding it tightly in his own.

"I don't think you will."

I couldn't help but smile at this.

My crush on him hasn't faltered at all.

"Thanks. It's just so confusing. I don't ever want myself to do what that boggart did in Defense Against the Dark Arts." I felt the tears pricking my eyes at the thought of that happening to me.

If I ever lost control and started hurting people, I wouldn't be able to live with myself.

"You won't. That boggart showed your worse fear, doesn't mean it's possible." He said in an attempt to reassure me.

"But it is possible, I just have to face it. Getting one of those rings is a priority now." I sighed and noticed something. I actually felt better after talking with Harry. My chest felt lighter and I liked it. I felt more at peace than I had in a while.

For the next ten minutes we sat in silence again, but it was a nice silence. One I could live with. But I did have one question nagging at me, and I blurted it out before I could stop myself.

"Harry, are you worried about Sirius Black?" I asked. He stiffened under me at the question, and I immediately regretted asking him.

"Sometimes. I find it best to keep him out of my mind." He replied, and noticed the expression on my face and he relaxed again. "Don't feel bad about asking. It's alright." He smiled and I nodded.

Without realizing it, I drifted to sleep.

I was vaguely aware of somebody guiding me softly into my bed, but figured it was just a dream.

...***...

A/N:

So I need your help. I don't really like the name of her gift and some ideas would be ULTRA helpful! Just tell me what you think it should be, and I just might change it if I like it.

If you can make it so that it still matches what the gift is about that'd be wicked.

THANKS YA!

Oh, and if you noticed I am adding a few of my own spells to the mix, but I'm mainly keeping them with the ones J.K. Rowling created ;D

Rose xx


	9. Chapter 9

_I do not own Harry Potter._

...*******...

I rubbed my hands together, trying to warm myself against the bite in the cold October morning air.

It was Saturday morning and I was perched in the Gryffindor stands at the Quidditch pitch watching the team practice.

Watching the different players zoom around the pitch was entertaining. I liked it.

It was funny to watch the twin's antics, attempting to get under Wood's skin. Oliver Wood was the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, and was relentless with the practices.

He made them do the same drills over and over until they could perform them flawlessly, and yet he sometimes still makes them even if it's been perfected. He reminds me a lot of a drill sergeant during practices.

I watched Harry soar through the sky chasing after the small golden ball known as the snitch. The bludger chased him, but the Weasley's managed to give it a good whack every time, sending it in the opposite direction.

Somebody yelled, "Watch out!" and I instinctively ducked, narrowly avoiding a speeding bludger aimed directly for my head. Behind me I heard it obliterating the wooden stands where my head was seconds ago. I sat back up cautiously and looked to see the damage.

"Shit!" I cursed and turned my direction to the Weasleys who were flying over, clubs slung over their shoulders. "Oi! Watch out why don't cha! I don't want to get my head blown off!" I shouted, shaking a fist angrily at the twins.

They grinned and shrugged shouting apologies at me as they flew off.

I frowned and shook my head, sitting back down. Yet, not even that could damper my lovely mood.

With one homework assignment and no catching up to worry about I was in a good mood. Harry flew over, coming to see the destruction.

"You alright? One second later and you'd probably have a broken nose." He said, hovering in front of my.

"Fine. I might just have to give both Weasley's a punch in the nose though." I glared at the two of them and they turned and flew right back to doing their drills.

I shivered as a cool breeze passed over me and tightened the red and gold scarf around my neck in an attempt to get warmer.

Why is it so cold? I mean, come on! It's like the freakin' North Pole here.

"Mia!" Hermione shouted, running into the stands. I turned to her and saw both her and Ron sitting down next to me.

"Mornin' guys!" I said cheerily, noticing that Ron and Hermione's cheeks were both already had flushed cheeks from the cold morning air. Hermione smiled and held out a warm plate with two pieces of bacon, some eggs and a piece of toast.

"We brought you this. We figured you were hungry." Ron shrugged and turned to watch the teams practice, giving a loud cheer each time one of them whizzed past us.

I smiled and accepted the plate gratefully, digging in. With every mouthful I noticed Harry shooting me more and more jealous glances. Each time he did, I shot a smug grin back.

"Thanks guys." I said when I finished. Hermione looked rather comfortable with her head on Ron's shoulder as she read. Ron merely smirked and winked at me when I glanced at him.

I raised an eyebrow but smirked back still.

Huh. Looks like they're finally figuring out that they're the perfect couple!

...*******...

"Wow. It's what, noon, and you're already dead tired. I think that's a record." I remarked to Harry as the four of us walked through the winding path back to the castle, Hermione, Ron and I freezing cold and Harry coated head to toe in mud.

"I know. Wood's worse than he was last year." Harry muttered and tried to shake off some of the mud. "Filch is going to kill me if I track mud through the halls."

I snorted at the thought of Filch on his hands and knees scrubbing madly.

When they all gave me weird looks I explained my thoughts.

Hermione rolled her eyes while Harry and Ron both laughed with me. Filch may have been a squib, but it was still funny how seriously he took his job. He also used it as an excuse to be extra cranky yet we all knew he was just bitter.

As the voices of a large Slytherin group reached my ears I groaned, already knowing what's coming.

"Hey Potter, look, it's a dementor!" Pansy Parkinson screeched in her annoyingly high voice.

"Hey Harry, look, it's a bitch." I muttered and Harry snorted.

"I heard that Mia!" She screamed, her ugly pug face twisting in anger.

"Good," I spat, looking at her with disgust, "now go off and play with your little Malfoy and leave us alone!"

She raised an eyebrow at me and pulled out her wand, holding it up threateningly.

I pulled out mine and prepared for her, onslaught of spells.

"Well, at least I can actually get a boyfriend. I'm not a monster like a certain someone!" She shouted.

"I am not a monster!" I shouted.

I can't make the first move, otherwise I get in trouble.

"_Expelliarmus!_" She shouted, and I felt myself shoved back into a wall. I instantly got back up, holding my wand in front of me.

"_Stupefy!_" I said. I didn't want to actually hurt her because if I do I get in trouble.

She laughed at the basic spell, and retaliated, using a spell I'd never heard before.

"_Flipendo!_" She yelled.

"_Protego!_" I saw a protective wall of magic spread out in front of me and blocked the spell.

She screeched in frustration, stomping her foot like the child she is.

By now a small crowd had gathered around us, some of them yelling to get a teacher. Now I have people to back me up by saying that she started it.

"_Agumenti!_" She screamed, seething with anger. A large jet of crystal blue water shot towards me and pounded me against the wall. I heard a distinctive crack from my ribs as the water hit me there directly.

The water faded and I crumpled to the ground from the force, my ribs on fire.

When I tried to stand again, my vision began swimming and I felt myself sway.

Pansy screamed another spell, but I never felt the impact. McGonagall's voice rand in my ears and I knew she used a shield charm. She then began screaming at Pansy for attacking another student, and Pansy being the bitch she is screamed right back at her.

When I tried to walk, my knees only buckled beneath me. Somebody was beside me though, putting my arm over their shoulder and holding me up.

My head was pounding and I felt something warm and sticky sliding down my cheek.

Finally I gave in to the darkness and allowed myself to black out.

...*******...

"Oh, Harry she's waking up!" Hermione exclaimed happily, jumping up and down.

I could feel somebody's warm hand holding mine and I smiled. Something inside me hoped that it was Harry, but I couldn't tell why.

"Hey." I said weakly and got myself into a sitting position. Looking around I noticed I was in the hospital wing with the Weasleys, Harry and Hermione all crowding behind me.

"Morning sleeping beauty!" George smirked and reached down to ruffle my hair but stopped. I raised an eyebrow and lifted a hand up to feel my now bandaged head.

"Oh lord. How bad is it?" I prayed that it wasn't bad and that there wouldn't be a scar. My head was still aching, but it had become more of a dull ache rather than feeling like somebody smashed a bat against my head.

Harry smiled softly and pulled my hand away from my head.

"Madame Pomfrey said that you probably have a concussion, but nothing too bad." He answered.

George, Fred and Ginny exchanged looks before smiling to each other.

"You should have seen Pansy's face when she got in trouble." Ron said with a laugh. I did a fist pump feeling victorious.

Yes! She got in trouble, she got in trouble! I hope it's bad.

I grinned, trying to imagine her face when she got yelled at. If only I could have had a picture.

"How much trouble is she in?" I asked earnestly.

"A ton. Mainly because you didn't fire a single strong offensive spell at her, you aren't in any trouble. Plus the entire crowd that was there were able to back you up with it. But her, she got detention for a month, half an hour a night with McGonagall." Ron smirked. Oh joy, oh joy, oh joy!

I snorted at the thought of her spending an hour a night with McGonagall.

If it was with Snape then she wouldn't have been anything bad because he probably wouldn't actually make her come.

"The story spread through the entire school, but of course it got twisted. The main rumor is that you almost beat her too, but that she hit you with a huge spell and you flew into a brick wall." Hermione said.

Wow. This school really enjoys its gossip.

"Huh," I replied thoughtfully, "at least its close."

Harry smiled and nodded.

Fred and George both cleared their throats and I looked at them questioningly. What could they want?

"We all have homework to do. Come on guys." Fred said, dragging Ron and Ginny out while George dragged Hermione out.

They protested until the twins both whispered something to them.

"Uh... what was that about?" I wondered. Harry shrugged and touched the bandages on my head.

"Does it hurt?" He whispered.

I put my hand on his and pulled it away, smiling softly.

"Not really. Don't worry." I assured him.

He frowned slightly but sighed.

I looked down to see that he was still holding my hand. He looked down at my gaze and blushed, pulling his hand away.

For some reason I giggled at his blush, thinking of how cute it looked.

"You're rather cute when you blush." I murmured.

Wait? Cute?

Bad thoughts bad!

His blush changed to a deeper colour and I laughed harder, but winced when my ribs began hurting.

I sighed and leaned back into my soft bed.

"Why did Pansy have to ruin such a nice day?" I said out loud, not really asking anybody.

Harry shrugged.

"Here, I brought this for you. I figured you might want it if you get bored." He said, handing me my sketch book. I smiled my thanks and opened it up; looking at everything I'd drawn so far.

There was the picture of the horse-thing, which I found out is called a thestral, my drawing of Hedwig, the dementor sketch, the dog that I kept seeing in my dreams and the Hippogriff drawing.

Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Harry glancing over my shoulder to look at the drawings.

"They're good." He complimented and I smiled.

"Thanks." I closed it up and placed it under my pillow. Harry opened his mouth but Madame Pomfrey came charging over, shooing Harry away.

"You've visited her for half an hour! Out! Out! She needs her rest!" She shouted, and drove Harry out of the room.

I sighed when he was gone, feeling rather lonely in the quiet hospital.

...*******...

It took a few days to convince Madame Pomfrey that I was fine so that she would release me, but we finally managed.

I soon found myself sitting in the common room though trying to catch up on my work.

We got stuck with a report in Herbology about what soils are best for what plants.

"Shit!" I cursed rather loudly when I misspelled yet another word. Hermione and Harry both looked up from their work, staring in my direction.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked as she walked over.

"I'm having troubles writing it properly. I keep spelling words wrong and I know there are at least thirty five spelling and grammar mistakes!" I exclaimed and threw down my quill.

Hermione sighed and picked it back up, reading over my work.

Not only were there a ton of spelling mistakes, but it was completely illegible.

"Come on, it's not that bad." She said in an attempt to comfort me, but I shook my head. I looked around, searching for my special quill that makes my writing prettier, but couldn't find it anywhere.

I groaned and allowed my head to slam on the desk.

Giving up on comforting me Hermione walked over to her desk and began writing out my essay for me.

"Hey! Why are you writing her work for her?" Ron asked in outrage when he entered the room and saw her.

"I'm writing this out for her." She replied.

"What? But you never write our stuff for us!" He complained, furrowing his eyebrows together in frustration.

I glared at him, wishing he'd just shut up. He continued to argue with her until I walked over and smacked him upside the head.

"She's writing it for me because I literally can't!" I shouted and he shrank down. Wimp. "So shut up and leave her alone."

He ran back up the stairs and I frowned. I hate losing my temper with people but he was just annoying me.

Harry looked towards me, his eyes widening. Hermione did the same thing.

"What?" I asked, looking at them both in turn.

"Y-your eyes... they're glowing!" Hermione gasped.

I raised an eyebrow and ran over to the mirror. Sure enough, my usual grey eyes were now glowing a brilliant gold colour.

"Cool." I breathed, unable to take my eyes off the mirror.

At the time, I could tell it wasn't a good thing that my eyes were glowing, but come on! It's cool!

I wonder if I scared Ron off.

Meh, he deserves it.

...*******...

I walked into the Great Hall the next morning to see everybody staring directly at me. I ignored their stares as they bore into the back of my head and sat down in my usual spot.

"Why's everybody staring at me?" I whispered to Hermione as I helped myself to toast, eggs and bacon.

She looked over to me and grinned, pulling her nose out of the large book in front of her.

"The rumors of course. People thought you were critically injured or something." She snorted, returning her attention to her book.

Really now. I should see what some of these rumors are.

I ate the rest of breakfast in peace, smiling that I no longer had homework.

Last night after Hermione finished my work she managed to catch up a bit on hers, and I had Harry give me another writing and math lesson.

He claimed that I was improving, but I needed to more than improve. I needed a freakin' miracle. I finally finished addition, but I had zero concept of subtraction.

My writing needed the most work though.

It was still illegible and I kept spelling things wrong.

It was so frustrating! I was so close to just talking about it with McGonagall and working out some deal.

"So, what's on the agenda today?" Harry asked me as he sat down.

"Absolutely nothing." I grinned and finished my meal, waiting for the barrage of owls to fly in.

Lately I had begun exchanging letters with Ron's older brother Charlie. If I can't talk with Harry, then Charlie's open to talk and he's able to comfort me really well.

The school lets me use one of the owls too because I still don't have one for myself.

A large tawny owl landed in front of me, holding its leg out for me to grab.

Clumsily I untied the letter and saw that it was, of course, from Charlie.

See, we started mailing each other when Ron didn't feel like writing a letter back to Charlie...

...*******...

_We were all sitting quietly in the common room, chatting about Quidditch. _

_"I really hope we win this year!" Hermione exclaimed, setting her book down. _

_"What do you mean?" I asked. _

_"Well, all of those matches that we have during the year are for something called the Quidditch House Cup. It's all the houses competing to see which is better, and this house has never actually won before." Harry explained from beside me on the couch._

_"Oh cool! Harry aren't you the Seeker?" I yawned, noting that the sun was almost completely gone. He nodded and yawned too._

_Harry had explained earlier about Quidditch when we first started talking._

_"I've never ri - " I began, but was interrupted by Hedwig tapping on the glass. Ron and his brother had been talking about Scabbers and how old he is. _

_Ron was lying face down on one of the desks, likely fast asleep. Harry almost called him but I shook my head, taking it from him._

_"Why don't I just reply for him? It's better than waking him up." I said with a shrug. _

_"You'll never pull it off." Hermione sung and returned to reading her book._

_I rolled my eyes and read the letter out loud._

_Dear Ron,_

_So you think Scabbers is dying? Are you sure? Because if you are we 'ought to inform Mum. Look at it this way, you might just get lucky and get an owl. _

_Although, considering that Mum and Dad wouldn't buy you an owl before I doubt they will now._

_You never know though. Until they do, there's nothing wrong with using Hedwig!_

_Love, Charlie_

_I chuckled and took out some parchment and my quill that makes my writing legible._

_Now, I have to sound like Ron... sound like Ron..._

_Dear Charlie,_

_Yeah I'm sure._

_To be honest though I doubt Mum and Dad would care really._

_I really hope I am lucky because I want an owl of my own, no matter how good Hedwig is. _

_Love, Ron_

_Reading it over at least five times I rolled it up, tied it to Hedwig's leg and sent her off._

_"I'm pretty sure my Ron impression sucked, but whatever. Maybe Charlie's answer will be rather funny." I sighed and leaned back into the couch, closing my eyes._

_Ron woke up not much after, confused._

_"You wrote to my brother? Without asking?" He questioned us, reading through Charlie's letter._

_I laughed and nodded, sauntering up to my room while he glared at me._

_It was a few days before I got the reply from Charlie, but when I did it was just as entertaining as I thought it would be._

_Dear Whichever One of Ron's Friends You Are,_

_That was a decent Ron impression, but not good enough._

_Which one of Ron's friends are you? I know all of you._

_Love Charlie_

_I wrote Charlie back, and ever since we've gone back and forth._

...*******...

"Another letter from Charlie?" Harry asked, nodding towards the letter.

I smirked and nodded, placing the small piece of paper into my pocket. I'll read it once I get back into the common room.

"Yeah. He's a great listener ya know." I replied, nibbling absentmindedly on a piece of bacon.

"I am too." He frowned with a slightly hurt look on his face.

I choked back a laugh. He looked so cute when he was pouting.

"I know, but you're really busy lately with Quidditch and everything." I smirked and patted him on the arm.

Ron and Hermione both laughed at Harry's face before returning to their meals. Not really feeling like waiting I got up and left, leaving before all of them and setting off for the common room.

The corridors were much quieter than usual. It was nice and creepy at the same time and I couldn't decide which.

My footsteps echoed throughout the hallways as I walked. The only sounds other than my lone footsteps were the quiet chatter of the many paintings.

When I got into the common room I noticed that it too was empty. Where is everybody?

With a slight shrug I slid into one of the old desks and pulled out a quill and parchment before reading Charlie's letter.

_Dear Mia,_

_So you think you like Harry? I think that's cool and you should too really. From what Ron says, he thinks Harry may like you back._

_Your writing is getting better you know. Your misspelling less and less with each letter._

_That gift of yours is cool too! You will find one of those sapphires. Dumbledore said that when the time is right one will appear to you and I think you should trust him with that._

_Dumbledore may be off his rocker but he's also a genius._

_And just so you know, all of the boys are starting to think your my girlfriend or something! Creepy right?_

_Cheer up!_

_Love, Charlie_

I couldn't hold a smile off my face. It was nice to hear him say these things really.

This is the reason why I didn't talk about it with Harry, because it was about him.

Ron's a hopeless romantic though, so I doubt he'd know if Harry liked me back. I wonder how the two of them got on the subject anyways...

Whatever.

I wrote out my reply to him slowly.

_Dear Charlie,_

_I really do like him. What I wonder about more is how the two of you even got onto the subject of Harry liking me..._

_LOL_

_And thank you. Hermione's been helping me a ton with my writing and math and all that, so I'm glad it's improving!_

_My gift still makes me nervous. I don't want to lose complete control all of a sudden just because I couldn't fine one_

_of the sapphires in time. Dumbledore really is off his rocker... no denying that. _

_It is creepy that they think I'm your girlfriend. Next time they do punch them in the nose! _

_Love, Mia_

I smiled in content, happy with what I had.

Carefully I corrected all of my mistakes and ran up to the owlery.

All of the owls were hooting happily and begging me to use them. I sighed and went with my usual, tying it to his leg.

I watch him disappear into a blur before heading back to the common room for my day of lounging.

...*******...

A/N:

...

...

IM SORRY! This is a horrible chapter!

It's a complete filler xP

Forgive me! The next chapter shall be betta!


	10. Chapter 10

_I do not own Harry Potter._

...*******...

"Oh Malfoy," Pansy ran a bony hand through his blond hair fawning over him, "does your arm still hurt?"

I made a gagging noise, disgusted by her shows of affection for Malfoy. It was uncanny how somebody could love that prat.

"Only a little. My father was furious though at that oaf, teaching us with such dangerous and out of control animals." Malfoy said as he cradled his 'injured arm'.

Prat. Egotistic, arrogant incredibly annoying prat.

Never can get enough of attention from his pug-faced girlfriend Pansy. She's constantly fawning over him, kissing him, hugging him. What could she see in him? I mean, yeah he's sort of cute but he's such a jerk that it couldn't possibly matter.

I clenched my jaw and balled my fists, trying to keep myself from having an outburst. It was only breakfast and I found myself just about ready to go over and murder one of those two.

Harry reached down and carefully unfurled my hands. I tried to smile up at him, but ended up focusing on my plate of eggs, stabbing them violently with my fork.

Over the past week Harry and I have gotten even closer to the point where people have begun calling us a couple.

We aren't yet, but hey, I can hope right?

The more Malfoy and Pansy spoke, or rather complained, about the topic the more my anger grew. I knew that I had to calm myself down. If my anger grows too large, it can cause bursts of magic. This is normal for most wizards but because of my gift it increases the possibility of it happening with me.

A huge problem with this is the fact that I have a notoriously crappy temper. When I came to Hogwarts I got a better grip on it but I still can lose control.

Don't blow anything up, don't blow anything up, don't blow anything up...

"I wouldn't be surprised if that blundering idiot got fired. It'd be an improvement in my opinion." I heard Malfoy snort from across the room and I couldn't hold it in any longer.

My glass containing juice suddenly shattered into hundreds of little pieces, each one flying in a different direction. I acted surprised so that nobody would suspect that it was me but everybody knew. Luckily people in Gryffindor understood, so they just gave me comforting and reassuring expressions before going about cleaning up the remains of my glass.

I noticed my closer friends all staring at me with worried expressions painted on their faces.

"I'm fine; I just hate having to hear Malfoy blaming Hagrid for everything." I sighed. Harry, Ron and Hermione all nodded and returned to their meals.

The entire Gryffindor table seemed unfazed by my slip-up, McGonagall having warned the entire house about my gift.

...*******...

_"Hello students," McGonagall started, clearing her throat to get the attention of the bustling students, "I've called you here today to talk about a rather important topic." _

_The Gryffindor students all turned their eyes over to her. _

_Everybody was talking about an incident that happened between another student and I in the common room. I accidentally sent them a rather large shock when they touched me. _

_My nerves had gotten the better of me and I was extremely anxious about an upcoming test and when she placed a hand on my arm as a show of reassurance, but I accidentally sent a shock through her. While it didn't kill her it did scare her and caused her nerves to spas slightly. _

_"As you all know, earlier today there was a small incident between two of our students." She said. The majority of the Gryffindors nodded, remembering. "Some of you may be wondering what exactly had happened."_

_"Where are you going with this?" A fourth year Gryffindor shouted. _

_McGonagall glanced at her, a frown of annoyance spreading across her face. She sighed but continued speaking, "I am getting there Miss Fall. As you know, Mia Denery survived a killing curse this summer. It is because of a certain gift she possesses. The name of this gift is not something I will tell you, so don't bother asking." She waited a minute, allowing the chatter to die down. "Her gift gives her more raw magical power than the average witch or wizard, as well as the power to speak to animals through a mental connection. The fact that she has more raw magical power than most means that she also has more trouble containing it."_

_"Is this why she shocked Tara?" A girl questioned. _

_Wanting to continue on McGonagall gave a small nod._

_"Yes. Just like average witches and wizards she can have outbursts of magic when feeling strong emotions. For Mia, until she can learn to control her gift her outbursts are going to happen more often than most. It is not something she can help, and it does not make her more dangerous. All I ask from you is that you accept her with it and do not fear her. She's been going through a rather rough time lately and does not need ridicule at this moment." McGonagall finished. _

_I was hidden in the corner of the room under Harry's invisibility cloak, hoping that people nod. This 'gift' was becoming more and more like a curse every living second. _

_"Why would we be scared of her? She's a fellow Gryffindor!" One of the sixth year boys shouted. _

_Many yelled in agreement, almost as if outraged at her suggestion. _

_Relief flooded through me, my heart soaring. _

_I had been fretting all day over the events that occurred earlier. I didn't want to be feared! _

_McGonagall smiled softly and gave a slight nod before briskly stepping out of the room. _

_Harry, Ron and Hermione all surveyed the room in worry, searching for my head bobbing among the crowd. Ever since the incident I had been hiding in my room all day with Harry's invisibility cloak strewn over me with my one foot poking out the front and stay strands of my hear visible. _

_I ran through the crowd and up to my room, landing on my bed with a soft thud. _

_This acceptance, it felt so nice. My father never showed me this acceptance or love. I couldn't tell how long I had been crying before I felt two arms wrap around me. _

_I cried into her soft shoulder until there were no more tears left._

_"Thanks Hermione." I said as I sat up on my bed. _

_"You're welcome. What are best friends for?" She said and smiled, holding me at arm's length. _

...*******...

I sighed and removed a small shard of glass from amongst my scrambled eggs, checking them through for any other stray fragments.

Malfoy's complaints still rang in my ears but I wouldn't let them get to me. I had become determined to get a better reign on my temper.

During the entire meal Harry kept his hand resting on mine. I smirked when it dawned upon me that he didn't even realize that he had left it there.

He noticed my smirk and glanced down. Blushing furiously he jerked his hand away, placing it on his own lap. I couldn't help but laugh, Hermione and Ron quickly joining in.

I shook my head as Harry busied himself with reading the paper, hiding his face.

"Harry, I have no clue how you can read the paper upsidown." I snorted, standing up and stretching before walking out of the Great Hall. Behind me I could hear the Gryffindor's surrounding Harry roaring with laughter as he hastily flipped his paper around.

Wandering the halls was nice. I could be by myself in peace and quiet, how I preferred it sometimes when I have to think. My mind often went to different topics of certain things I've been stressing over lately.

One of the things is Remus.

Lately something's seemed wrong with him. [A/N: yes I have her calling him Remus in her thoughts. ;D]

He's seemed ill, and it happens every month. I could tell that Hermione had noticed it as well, researching something that she wouldn't tell me, no matter how much I pried at her.

What was even weirder was this potion I saw Snape giving him one time before.

...*******...

_I approached the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, taking in a deep breath before walking over the threshold into the classroom._

_He currently was sitting in his desk, grading the thick stack of papers sitting before him._

_With a slight knock on the door he looked up and smiled. He motioned me over as he stood up from his seat._

_"You're looking much better Mia. How are you dealing with what happened?" Remus asked, adopting a look of concern that filled his features. _

_"Much better thank you." I sat down in the seat in front of his desk. _

_His look of concern switched to a more thoughtful expression._

_"Did you talk about it?"_

_"Yes. Harry and I talked about it." I replied with a slight sigh. _

_Remus smirked and raised an eyebrow in surprise. I blushed when I understood what he was implying and gave a mighty shake of my head._

_"N-no! It's not l-like that!" I insisted but his smirk merely grew._

_He gave a dismissive wave of his hand, brushing off my protests._

_"Whatever you say." He said, his grin not faltering. Adults are so immature!_

_"You are so - " I began as Snape walked in, holding a goblet in his hand._

_Wisps of smoke were rising from the goblet, the smoke the same colour as the potion inside._

_Remus turned towards him and sighed before accepting the goblet that was thrusted at him._

_"Thank you Severus. This is very helpful." He said. _

_"You're welcome." Snape drawled before stalking out of the room as his cape billowed behind him, not even acknowledging my presence._

_I looked at the contents of the goblet, absolutely revolted at the way it bubbled and sloshed about._

_"You're not really going to drink that are you?" I asked in disbelief. _

_"Yes, I am. It's a shame that sugar renders it completely useless." Remus sighed and downed the entire potion._

_The smell of it lingered in my nose, reminding me immensely of dirty socks. _

_"How do you know that's not poison?" I inquired as he gagged and shuddered from the foul taste. _

_He chuckled and shook his head._

_"Because he only brewed me a potion that is to help with my being a little under the weather at the moment." He said but I still was unconvinced. _

_Snape wasn't one that I placed my trust in. He held hatred for Harry even though he never did a thing. _

_I sighed and merely said, "well if you think you can trust him. I have to get back to the common room, I need to start on some homework." _

...*******...

Frowning I paused, that memory flashing before my mind. I wonder if those would be good for Hermione to know. This may help her...

I quickly decided for it, sprinting off in the direction of the large library.

It didn't take long to locate Hermione amongst her massive pile of books. She was reading furiously through the book in front of her, taking notes without even glancing at her parchment. As she ran out of room on the parchment she began writing on the table without even noticing.

Walking up behind her I cleared my throat to get her attention. She jumped slightly before turning around to look at me.

"Hermione, I may have some information that you may find useful with figuring out what's wrong with Rem- I mean Professor Lupin." I corrected myself, avoiding a curious glance from her.

"What?" I handed her a paper with all a description of the potion.

She raised an eyebrow at me after reading the list to herself.

"How did you come across this? Where did you see this potion?" She questioned me as I sat down beside her. I blinked, processing the questions before replying.

"Well, I was talking with Professor Lupin and Snape came in and gave him this potion that I described. I have no clue what it was though." I paused, thinking back. "Oh, and Professor Lupin also said that sugar makes it useless."

Hermione nodded, rushing up and snagging a book off one of the dozens of book-packed shelves. She dropped it on the table in front of us with a triumphant cheer before flipping it open.

After leafing through it for a minute she stopped on a page and read out the title.

_**Wolfsbane Potion**_

_This is a newer potion, created to make life as a werewolf easier. The main thing this potion does is_

_make it so that when a werewolf changes they are conscious of what they are doing, even if it does _

_not actually stop the change itself. This is a very difficult potion to brew and takes a very skilled person _

_to make it properly. It is a little known fact, but things such as sugar, mint or chocolate make the potion_

_completely useless. This potion is taken once a month the night of the change. If taken any earlier it will_

_not work. _

Hermione cut off there, looking up at me in shock.

"Professor Lupin's a werewolf."

...*******...

"It makes complete sense!" I exclaimed to Hermione as we traveled through the empty corridors towards the Gryffindor Common Room.

She smiled and nodded.

"You know we can't go around telling people right?" She asked surprised.

"Of course. Why would I?" I scoffed as I grasped my book tighter to my chest.

I was getting a bad feeling that kept tugging at my chest. Something was off. Hermione turned to me looking slightly concerned.

"Hey, what's wrong?" She asked. I frowned, looking around the eerily empty corridors.

"I'm getting a bad feeling." I replied.

"How bad?" She stopped and placed a gentle hand on my arm in a comforting gesture.

From how bad my nerves were I knew I shocked her, and I noticed her wince, but she didn't remove her hand from my arm.

"Bad. We need to get to the common room. Now." I ran off in the direction of the common room, running at full speed.

Hermione was hot on my heels the entire time, trusting my feelings.

I stopped dead in my tracks as I approached the crowd in front of the common room.

My throat began to constrict and I felt an odd tingling sensation spread throughout my entire body.

The tingling was quickly replaced with a burning feeling. Almost as if I had been thrown into a fire.

I stared at the massive crowd as my vision became blurry and one image flashed before me. It was a man standing with a knife in his one hand slashing continuously at the Fat Lady. All I could see of him was a matted mane of greasy dark black hair and the back of rather tattered robes.

It felt like ages that I was forced to stare at the horrid reflection of what I assumed was the past. When I didn't have to look at it any longer my knees buckled, and I nearly hit the ground.

Before I could crash to the ground though a strong hand gripped my arm, holding me from falling. Looking up I found myself staring into a familiar pair of piercing green eyes.

"You alright?" He asked, worry lacing his words.

"Y-yeah." I murmured as I used the wall to support me. He placed a cool hand on my forehead, checking my temperature. He worries too much. Chuckling I gently pulled his hand away and placed it back at his side. "I'm fine. Really." I insisted.

Of course he didn't buy it.

"Mia," He warned, "what happened?" Damn.

How come I can never lie to him? It's like he freakin' sees right through me.

Defeated, I sighed and explained to him what I saw.

"I don't understand it at all really, but whoever I saw was the one that slashed the Fat Lady." I said, biting my bottom lip nervously.

"Move away! Make room! I'm Head Boy, let me through!" A rather familiar annoying voice said.

"Nobody cares!" George shouted back.

I looked over to him, seeing Percy elbow his way through the thick crowd. He sighed in exasperation and threw his hands in the air dramatically.

Same old Percy.

It was only seconds later before Dumbledore rushed over, staring in horror at the scene before him.

The painting had six large slashes in it, each one longer than the one before it.

Dumbledore turned to the painting beside the Fat Lady's and asked, "did you see what happened?"

It was a large painting of a woman clutching a baby to her chest. The woman shook her head.

"No. She ran off. She said something about a hippo." The woman answered in a monotone voice despite the frantic look on her face.

Dumbledore nodded before in turn facing Filch.

"Argus, I want you to search every painting that contains a hippo in it." He ordered. Filch nodded and instantly began waddling off into the dark hallways.

It didn't take long before he returned, relaying what the Fat Lady told him.

"S-she said that it was _him!_" He exclaimed.

"Who Argus. We need a name." Dumbledore said gently, his eyes portraying the seriousness of the overall situation.

"Him! Sirius Black!" He exclaimed.

The entire crowd broke out in a flurry of chatter and whispers. Some people were scared, while others were somehow excited.

I personally didn't feel excited at all. If anything I felt every ounce of colour drain from my face.

Harry held an identical expression as me, his grip on my arm tightening. I placed my hand over his. He looked over at me and loosed his grip on my arm but didn't let go entirely.

"It's alright." I whispered.

I know what you're thinking, but cut me some slack! I was scared too and I wanted to say something small so that he couldn't hear how scared I was.

"Students! Tonight you shall be sleeping in the Great Hall. In a buddy, walk over to there without shoving." He said and the entire house took off at once, running to the Great Hall.

Harry and I waited for Ron and Hermione to catch up before walking into the Great Hall. We walked in silence, the tension so thick you could cut it with a knife.

Stepping into the Great Hall we saw forty or fifty deep purple sleeping bags scattered around the hall. We dragged four bags together before crawling inside them.

I glanced over to my side to see Harry already staring at me, fear still evident in his eyes. I pulled my hand out and placed it on top of his, comforting him silently. Ron and Hermione were doing the same, Hermione just as scared as Harry.

This was going to be a long night.

...*******...

_I ran through a meadow, chasing a cute little black lab puppy. The puppy would bounce around, it's overly large floppy ears following it. _

_He bounded towards me making happy yipping noises and thudding it's small tail against the ground._

_But when it got close it turned into a massive dog, growling and snarling at me._

_I flinched and turned around and ran. The further away I got though, the fast and larger the dog grew._

_Finally the dog caught up to me and began snapping furiously at my ankles._

_When I could no longer walk it lunged at my neck and -_

**kick**

I opened my eyes slightly and heard Dumbledore mid - sentence.

"... sure whether it was him or not." He sounded rather annoyed.

"Did the Fat Lady herself say it was him?" Another man asked. He was likely the one annoying Dumbledore. Quite an achievement.

"Yes, but her painting was the one being slashed!" Dumbledore exclaimed. I could hear his footsteps nearing mine as well as feel the vibrations deepening.

Turning my head to the side I glanced at Harry, noting that he too was wide awake. Guess he was the one that woke me up.

He was hanging on every word of the conversation.

"Dumbledore, it has to be him. How he managed to get past the dementors astounds me but it had to be him." The man said with a tone of finality in his voice.

"Until you can prove exactly how it was that Sirius black managed to get into this school, I shall not believe you." Dumbledore said with a tone of finality in his voice, walking out of the rom.

That was interesting.

I looked around, seeing that Ron and Hermione were also awake.

The four of us debated silently on whether to talk about it, but I knew we would just end up getting in trouble.

With a slight shake of my head I closed the topic.

When I fell back asleep, they could talk about it all they wanted.

…*******…

A/N:

Okay, so this was a much shorter chapter than normal, but meh.

I have some STHUFF planned. And If you noticed I'm not actually doing all of the events in the exact same order as in the book.

I may be doing the Quidditch game in the next chapter but I don't know for sure if I will. I may actually end up moving the big game to after Christmas though to make it a bit easier. Who knows.

Stay with me!

Rose xx


	11. Chapter 11

_I do not own Harry Potter._

...*******...

I felt myself drift into consciousness and heard somebody stir beside me. They sat up and people began buzzing around them, chattering rather loudly.

With a small groan I hesitantly opened my eyes, automatically closing them again in an attempt to shield myself from the harsh lights dangling above me.

"Hey, she's waking up!" Somebody exclaimed happily from beside me.

Oh great. Just great. I'm in the freakin' hospital wing _again_. What could I have done this time?

"Turn the damn light off..." I murmured and clamped a cold hand over my eyes.

I could hear a couple chuckles from the crowd surrounding me, but I still didn't open my eyes.

"It's off now. You can open your eyes." Dumbledore said softly before removing the hand I had been using to block the light from my eyes.

The world around me was blurry, but I could make out a mop of black hair, a bush of ginger hair, a few heads of fiery red and a long white beard.

Squinting around everything slowly became much clearer and I could see who large the group crowded around my bed was.

The whole Quidditch team was here as well as Ginny, Ron, Hermione and Harry.

I searched through my memory for what might have happened but each time I came up with a blank. I think I may have been at the Quidditch game considering the team is here, but I have no clue why!

"Why am I here?" I asked rather bluntly. Dumbledore frowned and everybody else gave me worried looks. "What? Did something happen?" I felt panic begin to rise up in my chest.

"Uh, yeah. You mean you don't remember a thing?" Hermione asked.

"No Hermione, I'm just asking for the hell of it." I replied sarcastically, but frowned at how rude I sounded. "Sorry. I mean; no I don't remember anything." I sighed and ran a hand through my hair.

Ron gave me an odd look before replying, "You went into some odd sort of trace. Like you did on the train."

Oh crap.

"Why though? How come I'm in a freakin' hospital bed?" My patience began running thin and I couldn't understand the extreme stiffness I felt. All I remember is walking to the Quidditch game and then a blank.

"Hermione, do you mind explaining what happened at the game to Miss Denery?" Dumbledore asked and Hermione nodded, launching into the events.

...*******...

_**The Quidditch Game from Hermione's POV;**_

_I smacked Ron's arm and pursed my lips, frantically searching the skies for any sign of Harry._

_The rain had begun pouring harder and was now pounding against the sides of the stands. We couldn't see anything. And if we couldn't see anything it's safe to assume that the players couldn't see anything._

_I snatched the binoculars Hagrid had beside us and raised them up to my own eyes, resuming my inspection of the skies._

_"Anything?" Ron asked as he shielded himself from the howling winds that were starting to pick up. _

_"No!" I yelled. I had to yell for my voice to be heard raging tempest._

_Mia suddenly stiffened beside us, reaching down for her wand._

_"There's something coming." She muttered and raised her wand in front of her._

_Everything else happened in a flash._

_Mia was suddenly floating in the air, an aura of immense power radiating from her body. The water that should have been soaking her didn't even touch her and her hair began floating around her. She turned her head, looking at me and I inhaled sharply. _

_Her eyes were glowing that bright golden colour like the time she got into a row with Ron. _

_She turned back towards the Quidditch pitch and floated forward, and then I understood why. _

_In seconds hundreds of dementors ascended onto the Quidditch pitch and towards Harry. _

_Mia wasn't going to let them though. _

_She raised her wand again and shouted, "Expecto Patronum!" just like she did on the train, but this time her voice sounded doubled. Like she wasn't actually the one casting it, but it was a spirit controlling her body to do its bidding._

_A large panther shot out of her wand and advanced upon the dementors, letting loose a mighty roar of a battle cry. One by one they fell to the ground before her._

_Knowing they were no match the dementors backed off. But it was too late. Harry suddenly came tumbling out of the sky and nearly hit the ground, but Dumbledore stopped him._

_"Aresto Momentum!" He shouted, slowing Harry's fall down. Sadly though, Mia wasn't so lucky._

_After she'd driven away the dementors her eyes rolled back and she tumbled to the ground. People all around the pitch stood up and gasped, looking at Mia lying on the ground in a heap. _

_"Mia!" I shouted as I stared at her motionless form in horror. She didn't stir and Ron and I both charged down onto the pitch, kneeling beside her._

...*******...

"And after that Dumbledore brought you here. You've been asleep for three days." She murmured and stared down at her hands.

"Th-three d-days?" I stuttered, my mind trying to process the amount of homework I was going to have to catch up on. I groaned and fell back against my soft feather pillow.

Smirking, Dumbledore answered for Hermione, "Yes Mia. Three days. Going into your state appears to sap you of your energy." He adopted a thoughtful onto his features suddenly. "Mia, by chance have you had any, odd things occurring to you lately? Things that were not included in the description to book gave?" He asked and gave me a knowing look.

My God, it's creepy how he knows these things sometimes.

"Well..." I trailed off, averting my eyes from his intense gaze. I took a sudden interest into the Whomping Willow from my window, imagining a sketch I could do of it later on.

"Mia," He warned, reminding me a lot of Harry, "please don't try lying to me."

"When Sirius broke in. When I approached the door I suddenly felt very warm and an image of Sirius slashing the painting." I sighed in defeat.

Soon everybody was staring at me. Harry, Ron and Hermione with knowing looks, George, Fred and Ginny with confused expressions.

Oh. They don't actually know yet.

"I need some help here. What the hell are you all talking about?" George finally said, Ginny and Fred nodding eagerly in agreement.

I rolled my eyes before going about explaining everything. It took all of about ten minutes to explain everything, and by the time I finished Harry began getting slightly impatient.

"Well, I have something I want to know." He piped up and the whole room turned to him. "Did we at least win?" He looked hopeful, but the Quidditch team quickly diminished that hope.

"Er, no. When you fell Cedric caught the snitch before he realized what happened. He tried to get a re-match but even Wood said that he won fair and square." Fred answered sadly.

I frowned and looked through the crowd of Quidditch players, not seeing Wood standing among them.

"Hey, where is Wood anyways?" I asked.

"Probably trying to drown himself in the shower." Ginny snorted, not completely understanding how serious this is.

Harry nodded and looked rather sad. It's not like it was his fault they lost! It was the dementors!

"Where's my broom?" He inquired hesitantly, staring around the room.

Hermione and Ron exchanged glances before pulling up a bundle. Harry groaned as small twigs and wood fragments spilled out.

"We're really sorry Harry, but it sort of fell into the Whomping Willow and, well," She sighed, placing the bundle on his lap, "this happened."

He looked sadly at the remains of his beloved broom, lifting a small piece of wood and examining it.

I couldn't help but feel bad for him. That broom was like his pride and joy and vital to playing Quidditch.

"It's alright Harry! You can get another broom, right?" I attempted to comfort him but he brushed it off, walloping in his self-pity.

It didn't take long before Madame Pomfrey bustled in, ushering everybody out of the room.

"Go! Go, the two need their rest!" She exclaimed and pushed them out of the room.

I sighed and returned to my thoughts, sorting everything out mentally. Or at least trying to.

The main thing bugging me was why that book never mentioned anything about seeing pictures of whatever it was. I couldn't call it seeing the future, because it was something that had already happened. But if it wasn't that, then what the hell was it? Was some spirit out there trying to warn me?

Gah. So many questions. Stupid questions. Clouding my mind and everything.

Also what about the fact that I was out for three days. I mean, I only performed a spell!

Wait...

I furrowed my eyebrows together and touched my arm gingerly, waiting for some sign of pain. When I felt none I was even more confused.

Hermione said I fell fifty freakin' feet! The hell! How come none of my bones are broken? Madame Pomfrey couldn't have mended all the bones that I should have broken in three days. Arg.

Plus, why did I get all my energy sucked away from me? Was it because I went into the state or something?

Jeez. I definitely need to talk to Professor Dumbledore. He might just help me out here.

And if he doesn't I'm going to have a mental breakdown, no doubt about it.

...*******...

_**Whack, whack, whack.**_

I set the book down in my lap before continuing with hitting myself in the forehead with it. Over. And. Over.

Yes. Boredom had finally pushed me over the edge.

Harry left two days ago and nobody had been allowed to visit me for a good four days while I was re-building my strength. To be honest I had no clue why this rule existed. Personally I think she's just going out of her way to make me miserable because I called her a stuck up bitch after she took away my sketch book claiming that it was 'a waste of my time'.

She wouldn't even let me do homework!

By now I probably had a pile that reached the freakin' sitting on my bed!

Just thinking about it made me depressed.

Finally she came over, tearing open the white curtains surrounding my bed.

"Out. Your done in here." She said shortly, chucking a ball of clothing at my head.

"Finally. I can leave this hell hole." I muttered and stood up, stretching out my stiff muscles. She seemed bristled by my insult but walked away anyways, muttering rude comments under her breath. I glared daggers at her back before putting the clothes on.

I slipped the plain black t-shirt over my head and tugged the dark blue skinny jeans on. Not even bothering to glance at a mirror I brushed my hair and stalked out, slamming the door to the hospital behind me.

Right before I closed the door though I could have sworn I heard her shout something along the lines of 'don't come back'. Well, I sure as hell don't plan on going back.

Walking through the halls I smiled to myself, enjoying the sight of the halls alive with happy chatter of the students.

A few of them turned and smiled at me, some waved, most didn't even notice me though. Something that I was definitely thankful for.

I smirked as I approached the Fat Lady portrait, only to see that it was no longer the Fat Lady. Instead there was an older looking knight standing tall and proud on a black stallion, nose high in the air.

Frowning I searched my limited memory for the password.

"Oh!" I exclaimed, remembering the password. "Fortuna Major!" I said proudly, a smile on my face.

"No. Sorry." The new painting said and my frown returned.

Damn! They must have changed the portrait while I was in the hospital.

I looked around, glancing up and down the hallways for a Gryffindor who may be able to tell me the new password.

Leaning against the wall I sank down, waiting patiently for a Gryffindor to pass by.

All the while that stupid painting just rambled away about how cool he is.

"And I've even defeated three dragons all at the same time! It was simply magnificent!" He bragged, sticking his nose even higher in the air.

"Oh for the love of God shut up!" I shouted, standing up and turning towards him. He raised an eyebrow at me, not use to being talked to that way. Honestly he reminds me of Malfoy quite a lot. Stuck up, arrogant and completely full of himself.

"Excuse me? Why I've never - " He began, but I stopped him.

"No, if you'd take your head out of your ass you might have realized that I wasn't even listening to you because nobody likes listening to a stuck up prick!" I screamed and stomped off, people staring at me in mix of awe and surprise.

Obviously nobody's set him right for a long time.

I was seething as I stormed around the castle, not even paying attention to where I was actually going.

Before I knew it though I was standing outside of Remus's classroom. I didn't really realize how much I wanted to talk until I thought of everything on my mind. Approaching the door I faced it but jumped back immediately, leaning back against a wall.

Inside there were Cornelius Fudge, McGonagall, Remus and Flitwick.

Their voices were carried out of the room and to my ears and I listened in to the conversation, feeling a twist of guilt in my stomach. Shoving it back I pressed my ear to the wall and listened intently.

"... better defenses! Miss Denery and Mr. Potter are to be protected at all costs!" Fudge insisted, slamming a hand down on the table. I flinched but kept on listening.

McGonagall let out an audible sigh.

"We are aware of this Minister. Dumbledore is already completely aware of Miss Denery's gift, and how rare it is." McGonagall reasoned.

What? Why is the Ministry interested in me?

"Yes. The Ministry considers her royalty. Does she even know about her vault? It contains over three million Galleons, it was left to her by the previous Aura Holder."

Aura what? Aura Holder? I need to remember to ask Dumbledore about that.

Wait, did he say three million Galleons? I don't need that much money! Why would she leave me that much without even knowing me?

"She is not aware because she was not aware of her gift before she came to the school. She is definitely one of the strongest Aura Holders we've seen in a very long time though. She's already discovered her Aura state as well." Remus explained, folding his hands together.

I raised an eyebrow to myself. Aura State, eh? So it has a name. Pretty cool, but how does he know I'm so strong? He's seen me twice and I don't even know the extent of my power, so how could he?

"Then all the more reason to keep her safe. She's likely still experimenting and needs one of the elemental sapphires as soon as possible before she has a slip up. It could be very dangerous if she does if she's as powerful as you presume," The stout man worried, a frown audible in his voice, "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named likely knows about her and if he's after her, Black just might target her as well as Harry."

"Yes. He would probably kidnap her though, rather than kill her like he wants to do to Harry." Flitwick finally spoke up.

As if on cue, Harry strode down the hall smiling at me. I moved my ear off the wall and shook my head, putting my index finger to my lips. He raised an eyebrow as I motioned for him to bend down and crawl past the door, completely unseen.

"What's going on?" He whispered and placed a hand on my shoulder.

I just shook my head slightly again and took up my eavesdropping again. Harry followed suit and stuck his ear against the wall to listen in.

"Yes, Black is probably going to want to kill Harry to finish the job he started. Then again, like you said, if Black really is still serving He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named then he will take Mia along with him. I'd rather be dead than given to him." Remus said sadly and Harry turned towards me, noting my look of utter horror.

I'd never had to meet him, but if my dad was in league with the Dark Lord then I wouldn't want to be anywhere near him. The thought of being handed over to him scares the crap out of me.

"Both of them need as much protection as possible. I can't stress that enough. We may send Aurors over here to assist the dementors in guarding the school and keeping an eye on them." The Minister said and finally sat down, the wooden desk creaking under his weight.

"Yes. His own godfather too. He was James and Lily's secret keeper and turned them in after only two weeks. Hagrid said he even saw Black standing there looking at the house after it had been destroyed." McGonagall said rather sadly and Remus gave a slight growl.

Yes, growl.

Harry was a whole other story though. His entire attitude had switched from what I presumed was pity to anger. Angry at Black for what he did to his parents. I can't say I blamed him though.

Without warning Harry spun on his heels and sprinted down the halls towards the common room.

...*******...

"Harry slow down!" I pleaded as I chased after him down the hall. He completely ignored my pleas and only ran faster towards the common room, shouting the password at the portrait. It swung open and I followed him in, awaiting his explosion.

The majority of the students were still in Hogsmeade, spending the night there.

Luckily Hermione and Ron decided to stay here with us so we don't feel lonely, so I was surprised when they weren't sitting in the common room already.

"How could he?" Harry roared, throwing his hands in the air dramatically.

I went to place a hand on his shoulder to try and comfort him, but pulled my hand away when I saw the look in his eyes.

It was something I hadn't seen before. Pure hatred. It was unnerving, seeing the usually calm and kind Harry as angry as he was now.

"I don - " I began but Harry just continued on with his rant, completely ignoring me.

"He was their best friend and he betrayed them! They did absolutely nothing to him and he killed them!" He yelled at the wall, still ignoring my presence. For once though I was sort of glad he did. He could take out all his anger at me if I do one thing wrong.

"Harry you need to calm down." I soothed, but I backed off when he finally turned his attention to me. For once I hated being right.

"You're taking his side are you?" He spat at me. His voice was pure venom, matching the look of disgust in his eyes.

Exactly like my dad.

"No I just - " I defended, but he just overpowered me.

"You what? He's after you as well and yet your taking his side!" He screamed at me.

My eyes widened and I backed away, sinking into a corner in hopes of disappearing, but of course that was not possible.

"N-no." I whimpered weakly, feeling tears forming in my eyes. Normally I wouldn't allow myself to cry, but this was completely different. At the moment I didn't see Harry. I saw my father. Yelling at me just like he always did, every day for doing absolutely nothing.

"Don't even deny it. You're a monster just like him." Harry was no longer yelling, but those last words hurt more than anything else. I hadn't even noticed Hermione and Ron standing in the corner for most of it, and they were both staring at Harry in complete shock.

I didn't think he could sink that low, and when he said those words something inside me snapped.

Shakily I stood up, supporting myself with the wall.

"Your calling me a monster. Look at yourself." I whispered, seeing the anger in him slowly ebbing away, quickly replaced by guilt. He took a step towards me but I held my hands out in front of me.

"Don't come near me." I warned, slowly backing towards the door. He disregarded my warnings completely, taking a few steps towards me. "I said stay away!" I screamed, and felt some sort of power surge through me and out my fingertips, firing itself at Harry.

He flew back into the wall, falling to the ground with a thud. I put my hand to my mouth in horror of what I had done, noticing Ron and Hermione's eyes on me. Shaking my head I fled the room before anybody could say anything.

...*******...

_**In Third Person**_

Harry got up, guilt filling his heart. How could he yell at her? She didn't do anything to him and yet he yelled at her.

He looked towards Ron and Hermione, silently pleading for their help.

Ron shook his head, not sure what to say while Hermione just pursed her lips.

"Hermione, you know what's wrong don't you?" Harry asked her. She sighed and bit her lip, debating on whether or not to answer him.

"Yes I do." She replied, staring at the door.

Harry waited for her to continue on, but frowned when she didn't.

"Well?" He asked expectantly, desperate to know what he did. Normally if he yelled at Mia, she would have just yelled right back. They've been in pointless screaming matches before and both ended up laughing about it later.

"I think that you may have just reminded her of her father Harry. Remember, he use to yell at her as well. But," Hermione hesitated, unsure of whether to continue, "well it was more of the look in your eyes that got to her Harry. You were looking at her like you would if you were actually talking to Sirius Black."

Harry took a second to let it all sink in before groaning and hitting himself in the head.

He was so stupid! He was so mad at Black that he took it all out on her just because she was there.

"I need to go find her." He mumbled, turning towards the door and ran out, heading in the direction of the owlery.

...*******...

I sprinted through the halls, my vision blurry from the steady stream of tears leaking out of my eyes.

Wiping them away as I ran I made a bee-line towards the one place where I could be alone.

The Owlery.

It was nice and quiet there and it had a beautiful view of the sunset.

Without looking where I was going I sprinted up the stairs and collapsed against a wall, clutching my heart.

I never did anything to him! He just yelled at me to take out his anger against Black.

The look in his eyes though, it was exactly like the look of my father. Disgust. Like I was the scum of the earth.

I was scared as well, but I shoved my feelings away to help comfort him and how does he repay me? Yelling at me and taking out everything he was feeling on me. Something I would never do, no matter how mad I was.

What scared me was the way I reacted though. I mean, I felt threatened and everything, but that doesn't mean I like how I threw him against a wall. We've gotten into fights before, but that's never happened.

So why now? Maybe Fudge is right saying that I'm dangerous the way I am. Without one of the sapphires I can't control my outbursts.

I don't want to be the cause for sending somebody to the hospital wing just because of something like that.

My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of somebody's footsteps coming up the cold stone stairs, stopping at the top.

"What? Here to call me a monster again?" I said in a hollow voice, sounding nothing like my usual cheery demeanor.

He flinched but came to sit next to me all the same.

"I'm sorry." He mumbled, staring down at the ground. For some reason I felt tears slowly leak out of my eyes again.

"It's alright." I said and gave him a teary smile. I don't know why I forgave him so easily! Why? He sunk so low, yet I caved almost immediately!

I don't understand myself. He looked at me incredulously, not understanding why I forgave him so easily either.

"No, it's not Mia. I should never have taken out my anger on you like that." He said and gave a shake of his head. I stared at the sunset and smiled, blaming it for my inability to be mad at him.

"Harry, how about we just forget that it ever happened." I hoped he would just agree. I wanted to completely forget this ever happened to be honest.

"Alright." Harry agreed quickly, smiling down at me. I never noticed how tall he actually is.

I frowned when I remembered what I did. I mean, did he really deserve to be thrown back into a wall?

"What's wrong?" He asked, his smile fading from his face.

"It's just, I shouldn't have done what I did! I lost control and I - " I was cut off though when he crashed his lips into mine, taking me completely by surprise.

After a second I kissed him back and placed my arms around his neck. When I pulled away, I rested my forehead on his, looking into his bright green eyes.

"Well, that was unexpected, but it's about time." I winked and a crimson hue appeared on his face.

He grinned sheepishly and I couldn't hold in a laugh. Even though his looks weren't why I liked him in the first place, he was just so cute! More in a little boyish way than anything, but still.

His grin turned into a slight pout and he asked, "why are you laughing?"

"Your just so cute!" I smirked and pinched his cheeks like a grandmother would a young child. His blush grew and I leant back against the wall.

It finally happened. I'm finally going out with him.

Right then I felt like I could do anything.

...*******...

A/N:

Awh! They're just so adowable ;D

I couldn't resist.

And to all you fans out there, they won't be going into anything huge just yet. Only small kisses really.

IT SHALL GROW!

Oh and... yea I know, this is a really long chapter but I just couldn't stop writing xP

Now, notice how this wasn't as fast of an update? Writing is just easier for me if I read a ton before actually writing. It just comes much easier for moi.

Thanks!

Rose xx


	12. Chapter 12

_I do not own Harry Potter._

...*******...

I pranced around the empty common room, hollering the lyrics for 'We Wish You a Merry Christmas' at the top of my lungs while my friends opened their gifts. Today was Christmas morning and not a thing in the world could diminish my overly cheery mood. Hermione said I was high on Christmas spirit.

When we woke up this morning I just had a great feeling. I was awake rather early but amazingly Harry and Ron were both already wide awake, tearing open the first boxes of many.

Hermione followed not long after, carrying a mass of gifts from various people in her arms.

"Oi, Mia! Come here and open your gifts!" Harry shouted over my voice. I gave him a confused glance, stopping mid-skip.

"I have gifts?" I asked and darted over. He motioned to a massive pile of boxes, each one wrapped in vibrantly covered paper.

Harry snorted and replied, "Of course! We all got you something you know."

I grinned and reached out to grab the biggest gift of the bunch but stopped suddenly.

"Well, actually I have something for each of you." I laughed and bolted up the stairs, returning with my sketch book.

Over the past week I had been working on a sketch for each person, plus one that I had made magical copies of so each of us, including me, got a copy. I even went to the extent of enchanting them so that they moved just like a wizard picture.

Harry's was a detailed picture of the golden snitch that sped around, flashing in and out of the framed paper.

Ron's was a picture of Hogwarts that had different flashes of weather including rain, snow, a gentle breeze and a rainbow.

Hermione's was a picture of Crookshanks in the midst of playing with a toy mouse and rolling about.

The final picture however was my favourite. It was all four of us in a snowball fight. We were all throwing them at each other and at one point I actually stuff a handful of snow down Hermione's coat. What I liked about it so much was how happy we all were. Smiling, laughing and completely carefree.

"They're not much. I couldn't actually afford to - " I began, handing each one of them their framed sketches.

"Not much? These are incredible!" Ron exclaimed, staring in awe at the pictures. "You drew these yourself?"

I nodded and blushing a brilliant crimson from his praise. I wasn't use to anybody but Harry complimenting me on my art. I never let anybody else ever see them.

"I love it! It's so cute!" Hermione squealed, placing a gentle hand on the glass.

"Same. You must have spent hours on it." Harry murmured and walked over, placing a gentle kiss on my cheek as a show of thanks. With a mischievous smirk I stood up on my toes to brush my lips over his. Even though Harry wasn't necessarily tall he still had a good three inches on me which made me feel even shorter than I already do.

Hermione and Ron groaned, looking away from out display of affection. I surprised my loud bark of laughter, managing to turn it into only a small giggle.

They still weren't use to us being a couple, even though it's been almost two months now. Harry and I have grown closer, even though we barely kiss each other or anything of that sort. We hold hands a lot, but it's more the fact of sharing each other's presence that brings us happiness.

Just like we've grown closer Harry and I also learnt that we frequently. Not major stuff. Often just small disagreements that we laugh about later.

Even so Harry, Ron and Hermione are the only three people gutsy enough to lose their temper with me.

Most people are absolutely convinced that they're going to get blown into a freaking wall if they get mad at me or anything.

Those three know that I rarely ever actually use my power, no matter how mad I get. It mainly happens if I'm scared or if they somehow remind me of my dad like Harry did when he found out about Black.

Hermione ran a hand over her frame, admiring the detailed carvings in it.

"This frame is lovely. I really like it." She grinned at me.

"Thanks. Dumbledore actually gave me the money for it." I said and smiled sheepishly, thinking back to that day a week ago.

...*******...

_I sprinted through the halls, fretting over the amount of trouble I'm going to be in when I get to class. I had been so busy trying to complete my essay I completely forgot about the actual class I had to attend._

_Snape had decided to assign us a stupid two foot long essay on werewolves. Hermione and I both knew that Remus was one, but nobody else did._

_Personally I had a feeling Snape was trying to change that and get Remus fired. Stupid jerk._

_"Oof!" I exclaimed as I landed on my butt. I had been so consumed with my thoughts that I hadn't even been watching out in case I ran into somebody._

_"Oh, hello there Mia. In a bit of a rush I see?" Dumbledore smiled, an amused smile on his face. I blushed and stood up, trying to pick up all my scattered papers. _

_"Sorry sir! I'm sort of late." I apologized and brushed my robes off, preparing to sprint off again._

_"It's alright." He smiled and held up the picture I had drawn for Hermione. "This is really very good. Did you draw this yourself?"_

_I gave a small nod before turning my gaze to the ground._

_"Yeah. I drew a different picture for Harry, Ron and Hermione each for Christmas. I was hoping to frame them as well but.." I trailed off, knowing Dumbledore understood._

_"Frames would do these well." He murmured as he looked over his half-moon spectacles at the picture. "I think I can help you out with that." _

_Raising an eyebrow at him I saw a cheerful glint in his eyes. _

_"What do you mean?" I inquired, taking the picture as he held it out to me. _

_He reached into his pocket, pulling out a handful of golden coins and handing them to me. "That should cover the frames."_

_"T-thank you sir! Wow." I murmured as I counted the amount he gave me. Thirty galleons. Much more than I need!_

_"You're very welcome. Now run along! You're already late." He chided and skipped away. Literally. He really is mad. _

...*******...

"Now open your gifts! I can't wait to see if you like them!" Harry smiled and grabbed me hand, leading me over to the untouched pile sitting by the crackling fire.

I grinned and sat down, easily ripping open the thin packaging to reveal an ornate book.

It was made of leather and had a charmed lock so that only I could open it by pressing my thumb to it. My guess was that it was a journal because of the lock. I gasped when the word _happy _appeared on the cover in curly gold letters.

"Oh my gosh! I love it Hermione!" I gushed and hugged the book tightly to my chest. Harry and Ron both laughed while Hermione blushed, becoming suddenly interested in a loose plank on the floor.

"Mine next!" Ron exclaimed, shoving another gift into my hand. This time it was a small box about the size of my palm.

I giggled and opened the box to reveal a small silver sun charm safely wrapped in paper. Looking up I raised an eyebrow, looking between Harry and Ron.

Ron gave Hermione a slight nudge and she jumped slightly. He gave her a look and she jumped slightly as if remembering something she forgot.

"Just a second!" She ran up to her room, returning quickly with another charm grasped in her hand. "Here." She handed me a bracelet chain along with a moon charm.

That just confused me further.

Harry gave me a smug smirk before handing me another small box that contained not only another charm, but a watch as well. The watch was also silver with a sun and moon drawn on the watch head.

"Okay, I am now completely confused." I admitted, looking around at all my friends - and boyfriend - faces. Harry handed me a small piece of paper that explained.

_**His and Her Gift: Watch and Bracelet**_

_The his and her watch and bracelet are the perfect gift for a blooming couple. _

_The heart charm on the bracelet and the watch are charmed so that when pressed, the wearers are transported to each other. _

I looked up from the paper and awe'd, encasing Harry in a tight embrace.

"You the best." I whispered into his shoulder and he blushed slightly. "You're so cute when you blush." I smirked and pinched his cheek lightly, causing him to blush even more.

Hermione smirked and walked over, pinching Harry on the cheek as well. We both giggled and Ron eventually joined in while Harry just sat there and pouted sitting with his legs crossed in front of him.

"Let's test this out." Harry grabbed his watch and I put all the charms on and pressed the heart. In a split second I landed in Harry's lap softly. "I quiet like this." With a smirk I put my arms around Harry's neck and planted a kiss square on his lips.

Ron and Hermione both groaned but smiled all the same. I can't remember a happier day.

...*******...

"Come on Mia," Harry said and rolled his eyes, grabbing my wrist and dragging me out of the common room, "it's time for lunch! We already skipped breakfast."

I glared at him playfully and stomped my foot like a five year old.

"No! I don't want to go yet!" I whined and Ron and Hermione smirked, watching Harry try and deal with me. Most of the time he was the only one that could get me to leave the common room. "I have an idea!" Harry groaned and shook his head.

"How do I deal with you?" He muttered to himself.

"You love me!" I sang and pranced up to him, pecking his cheek lightly. I was in a good mood, and when I'm in a good mood I kiss him more often. "Just go to the hall and when you get there I can transport there!" I said gleefully.

He frowned, not liking the idea already. "What if you land on my lap again?"

I gave him a mischievous smirk and wink. That was part of the plan after all!

"Then there's another upside to these things. Me constantly getting to land in your lap." I waggled my eyebrow at him suggestively. He shook his head and walked out, leaving me behind.

He muttered something along the lines of 'horny teenage girl' before closing the portrait behind himself.

Ron and Hermione both snorted with amusement before following after him.

I always win!

After waiting for five minutes I thought it was suitable for me to pop in, so I pressed the heart button and, again, landed softly in Harry's lap.

The room was just lovely! There was a massive tree, it was so big that the tip of it brushed the roof and the singing angel was placed just below the roof. There was fake snow gracefully floating down from the enchanted ceiling. The snow never melted but rather disappeared after about a minute.

Blue and white streamers were strewn all across the room, intertwined among each other. The normal yellow-orange candles that floated above them were replaced with beautiful dove white candles with small blue flames licking the ends.

Gasps traveled around the table when I landed and I glanced around, noticing we were at the professor's table. Luckily Harry wasn't sitting beside a professor. To his right was Hermione and he saved me a seat right beside him on the other side.

Harry and I looked at each other and exchanged loving glances, Dumbledore, McGonagall and Remus all smiling at us warmly. Almost as if they could sense how we felt about each other.

After about a minutes I hopped off his lap and sat down beside him.

"Glad you joined us Mia. Quiet an entrance, might I add." He smiled and winked at me, causing me to blush. Damn me and my girlish reactions! "Since we're so few today I decided that we should all sit together instead of at separate tables. Now, let's begin!"

Food suddenly appeared on the golden plates. There was everything you could ever imagine!

Turkey, mashed potatoes, carrots that were steamed to perfection and even rich gravy that tasted good on everything. I piled my plate high and turned to Fred, George and Ginny.

"So, where were you three this morning?" I asked them, referring to the fact that they weren't there this morning to open gifts.

"Well, we spent this morning - "

"With our wonderful friends - "

"In Ravenclaw - "

"And Hufflepuff." They answered in sync, a habit that they've developed. It's confusing at first but you get use to it. Ginny nodded in agreement and gave me an odd stare.

Probably pranking the poor saps. I looked around though, noticing that both the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students were girls. Raising an eyebrow both girls blushed but hid their faces with their hair.

Wow... poor girls. Desperate girls. Snogging Fred and George.

I rolled my eyes and continued on with my meal.

Suddenly Professor Trelawney burst into the Great Hall, being rather dramatic about the whole thing.

"I apologize Dumbledore," She said sounding as if out of breath, "I was rather nervous about coming. Had a bad feeling today you know." She frowned and approached the table. McGonagall snorted, laughing at Trelawney. I smirked but continued to look down at my plate of food.

"It's alright Sybill. Why don't you take a seat?" He asked politely and she smiled, about to take a seat. Suddenly she jumped back and gasped, laying it on thick. Her and the dramatics.

"I can't sit! If I do there will be thirteen people here! The first one to get up will die!" She exclaimed and pointed a bony finger at her empty seat.

The four Weasleys all gasped, taking her seriously. I heard McGonagall snort again and let out a loud burst of laughter, unable to hold it in. Hermione too allowed herself to chuckle lightly. The both of them were rather convinced that she was a fraud. I wasn't completely sure, but hey, if she could prove it then good for her.

The rest of the meal went by rather quickly. By the end of it McGonagall had become partially drunk, swaying slightly in her seat and laughing heartily at a rather pathetic joke Hagrid made.

I grabbed Harry's hand, entwining my fingers with his own and leant my head on his shoulder. As I did I couldn't help but notice the wave of smiles from McGonagall, despite her being drunk, Dumbledore, Remus and even Hagrid.

To be honest I was mainly wondering what was going through their minds. It was almost as if they were sharing a secret moment or something of the sort with each other about Harry and me. Not that it bugged me, I was just curious.

These were the moments I liked best with Harry. Where I could just enjoy being with Harry in peace. The worst thing was all the teasing it got from the Slytherins. Us dating was just another excuse for them to mock us, likely jealous of our happiness.

"I'm feeling rather tired. I woke up rather early this morning." I told Harry as a yawn escaped my lips. "I'm going to head off to the common room to take a nap." He nodded and gave me hand a squeeze as I stood up, stretching my arms above my head.

Trelawney suddenly let out a scared squeak and I jumped, startled.

"Y-you were the first one to leave! You're going to die!" She announced, her eyes widening at me.

"Honestly Sybill. The only way she's going to die is if a chainsaw murderer is waiting at the entrance to jump her." McGonagall scoffed and waved a dismissive hand at her proclamation. Even Dumbledore laughed at the comment and I rolled my eyes, walking straight to the common room.

...*******...

Tentatively I knocked on the door, awaiting an answer from my Headmaster.

"Come in Mia, I've been expecting you actually." Dumbledore said. I opened the door and stepped in, smiling at the large office.

"Hello Sir. I need to talk to you about something I heard." I said and walked up to the desk, taking the seat in front of his desk.

He raised an eyebrow, giving me an expectant look.

"Could you explain to me what an Aura Holder is?" I asked in my usual blunt fashion. Let's just say I wasn't exactly one to beat around the bush when I wanted to know something.

"I was wondering when you may ask about this." He sighed and leant back further into his chair, his eyes containing that usual twinkle of amusement and childish joy. "An Aura Holder is a common name of somebody with your gift, The Aura." He smiled and folded his hands together.

I nodded, hoping for more information. I had already guessed this part of it but I wanted to know why I was left 3 million galleons by the previous one.

"I kind of figured that. What I more want to know is why I was left 3 million galleons by the previous one and was never told about this." I frowned and noticed his smile falter slightly.

"You need to understand Mia that we wanted to just wait for you to figure it out yourself. How you discovered what the previous Aura Holder left you though I do not know." He sighed.

Honestly, what was so important about Aura Holders? I mean, I know that we're rare and strong and everything, but come on!

I heaved a deep sigh and stared at him intently, trying to read his face. "I noticed you avoiding my question."

"An old man can try." He chuckled before suddenly turning serious again. "We didn't want to tell you because we weren't sure whether or not you were ready for that much responsibility. No matter what you do or say you still are a thirteen year old girl."

"Yes, but that doesn't make me irresponsible! I also was curious on why Aura Holders are so important? I know we're strong and rare and all of that, but..." I sighed. Thinking back, I wasn't asking completely. I had remembered what Remus said.

That Voldemort had his sights set on me and what he wanted to use me for. And I wanted to know why.

"_Because_ ofthose two reasons. You're valuable. Thankfully the majority of the world doesn't even know you exist. If it ever does get out though, you will never be safe no matter where you are." He said. I blinked, trying to let it all sink in.

This year was one hell of a year so far.

...*******...

_**Just After Lunch. **_

_**Minerva, Dumbledore, Remus and Hagrid.**_

_**Third Person.**_

The four professors conversed, all of their minds flickering back to the events of lunch.

Minerva sighed happily, allowing herself to sink lower in her chair and her shoulders to slouch. They were all in the headmaster's office enjoying the peaceful Christmas day.

"Was I the only one that noticed the way Harry and Mia looked at each other?" Remus finally asked thinking fondly of a memory where the two of them holding hands as they walked down the hallways.

"No, you're not." Dumbledore smiled. Minerva and Hagrid both murmured agreement.

"The way they looked at each other. Even though they've only been dating for a short time, they still look at each other so lovingly, almost as if they share some connection that none of us know about. Just like Lily and James did." Minerva said dreamily, remembering the young couple who were so much in love.

"Yes." Remus said, the same dreamy tone entering his voice.

Hagrid smiled, small tears falling from his big black eyes. "I can remembr th two o em. Such a per'ect couple. Ne'er seen two pe'el so in love." He sniffled, grabbing a tablecloth-sized hanky from his pocket.

"That they were. I see so much of both Lily and James in Harry, just as much as I see so much of Sahra in Mia." Dumbledore said sadly, and the room was engulfed in a thick silence.

Sahra, Mia's mother. They share the same eyes, hair and overall facial look. The only thing Mia gained from her father was her thin and short frame.

She also gained her mother's heart and cheery out look of the world.

...*******...

It was so cold. I felt so alone and sad. Like I could never again feel cheery or anything.

I had that dream, the one I had the day we took the train to Hogwarts.

With the man that had black hair, Harry and I.

The dementors had shown up and began sucking our souls and every happy memory that existed in the depths of our minds.

Stumbling slightly I made my way downstairs and collapsed onto the couch, silent sobs racking my body. The tears poured down my face steadily, the coldness and fear wrapping around me and chaining my heart.

It was sudden, but I heard somebody tentatively stepping down the stairs and running over. The person wrapped their arms around me and I buried my face in their chest, feeling warmth coursing through my veins.

"Harry." I sniffled, hating how weak my voice sounded.

"Yeah?" He asked automatically. He sounded desperate, willing to do anything to make me happy.

"H-how did you know I was down here?" I asked, finally lifting my face from his chest and staring into his brilliant emerald eyes.

He looked rather thoughtful for a second. It was as if he too wasn't exactly sure. "I felt your sadness in a way. Something inside me knew there was something wrong I guess." He shrugged and looked at my face.

With a frown he wiped the tears from my eyes and placed a gentle hand on my cheek. The worst thing when he was comforting me was having to see me cry. I could tell that it hurt him. He just hated seeing me in pain, as do I when I find myself comforting him after a nightmare.

"Please Mia, tell me what's wrong?" He pleaded, his eyes searching my saddened face for an answer.

"In my nightmare, I saw dementors sucking your soul out. Yours, mine and somebody else. I don't know who though." I sighed and shook my head, describing the man to Harry.

"That sort of sounds like Snape." I thought about it for a second before feeling my heart sink.

He was right. Greasy long black hair, sickly pale skin - I could tell from his hands - and dark black robes.

"What could that mean?" I asked myself, speaking my thoughts aloud. Harry gazed into the fire just as he does whenever he's deep in thought.

"I really don't know, but I have a feeling that it's not good." He sighed and placed his head in the crook of my neck, snaking an arm around my waist.

"Yeah. I still wonder how you could know that I was down here and crying." I murmured, my mind making the connection though.

It could be the beginning of that mental connection the book mentioned. If it is, then that means Harry loves me back. That single thought alone made my heart soar with joy.

He loves me! Just the same as I love him. All I can hope though is that the love lasts.

…*******…

A/N:

AM I THE ONLY PERSON THAT THINKS THEY ARE THE CUTEST COUPLE EVER?

No? didn't think so.

So as I promised, their relationship is growing really fast! It's not ultra love yet, but just you wait, it goes up and up and up and up until BOOM!

Your not gonna get told what the boom is ;D

So I hoped you all liked it, because I know I LOVED this chapter. Just so adowable!

Thanks guys for spending your time reading my wickedly amazingly awesome fan fic!

Big ego ftw!

Rose xx


	13. Chapter 13

_I do not own Harry Potter_

...***...

I trudged through the thick forest, following Hagrid to where he was leading us. Mud squished under my feet as I walked.

Today we had our first Care of Magical Creatures class, and I was actually excited. It'd been two weeks since what happened in Defense Against the Dark Arts and rumors were in full force, circulating throughout the school. Oddly enough though very few of them were bad. Most of them were how cool it was or how strong I probably am.

Yet there are always the ones that originate from Slytherin that called me an out of control monster, or that I was mentally unstable and that they already had me a special room in St. Mungo's.

Every single time we passed them I tried my best to not let them get to me but they got worse.

Malfoy was horrid though. He would call me a monster, a murderer and a danger to every single person in the school. Harry tried to comfort me by holding my hand to reassure me.

As we walked through the forest I could hear Malfoy talking with his cronies behind me. He was mainly complaining about how Hagrid was going to be teaching and it was really getting on our nerves.

"I can't believe they're letting this big oaf teach. It's disgraceful. I mean, my father already said this school was going downhill but this is just horrible." Malfoy complained loudly behind Harry, Ron and I.

I clenched my jaw and turned around, glaring at him.

"Oh shut up Malfoy. Nobody cares what you or your father think." I growled. He stopped talking and looked directly at me. Shock was written all over his face, not use to being spoken to like that.

He shook his head and sneered, "Nobody cares what a monster like you says. Your just filth like that little mudblood friend of yours."

I raised an eyebrow and Harry grabbed my hand, dragging me away. Even as I was pulled away I could hear Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle laughing at their 'smart' reply.

"Harry why didn't you let me at least punch him in the nose?" I asked in disbelief.

"Because you would have gotten in trouble! Just ignore them." He said and gave my hand a squeeze.

I gave a small smile and we continued on with walking until we reached a clearing.

Hagrid was already standing in the clearing along with two large creatures. They were covered in multi-coloured feathers, one red, orange and brown and the other grey, white and light blue. They had the hind legs of a horse, but the beak, wings, front legs and steely eyes of an eagle.

"What are those?" I wondered out loud, not really expecting an answer.

"Hippogriff. Half griffin half mare." Hermione said, suddenly appearing beside me. I jumped slightly and stared at her.

"When did you get here? I didn't see you in the group!" Harry and Ron were both surprised to see her there as well.

"What are you talking about? I've been here the entire time." She scoffed and turned her attention to Hagrid.

I opened my mouth to retort but Hagrid cleared his throat and began the lesson.

"Alrighty. So, uh, welcome to yer' first lesson. We're goin ter have a hands on lesson first, with these two Hippogriffs." Hagrid said, shifting uncomfortably. "Now, Hippogriffs are very proud creatures, and aren't ones to cross. Don' go insultin 'em cause it might very well be the last thing you do." Hagrid warned, looking directly at Malfoy. "When you approach them you have ter bow, very low too, and wait for them to bow back ter you. If they bow back you are allowed to approach them and give their beak a pat." He said and demonstrated with the grey and white Hippogriff. "These two, Buckbeak and Azia are mates. To approach one, you have ter get permission from both. Volunteers... volunteers... how about 'Arry and Mia! You two come here." Hagrid said.

I hesitated, but felt Ron give me a slight shove forward.

Hagrid put a hand on each of our shoulders in a form or reassurance.

"Mia, yer goin' with Azia and 'Arry yer wit Buckbeak. Go on now, bow both of you." Hagrid said and we both bowed deeply.

Wow, she's so pretty. Her feather's remind me of flames in a way.

_Thank you child. _A melodical voice said in my head. I almost jumped, but knew better than that. I didn't want to startle them.

Are you Azia?

_Yes. You may approach, but slowly. _She replied. I moved up from my bow and to see that she was bowing deeply in front of me. Taking small, slow steps I stepped up to her. She lowered her head and allowed me to stroke her beak.

Thank you for allowing me to approach you. Is it possible for me to talk to Buckbeak as well?

_Your welcome child. And yes, I believe it is. _I felt another presence enter my mind that I assumed was Buckbeak.

Hello child. He said, and I smiled.

Hello Buckbeak. Thank you for allowing my friend Harry to approach you.

Buckbeak gave a slight nod and I could see Harry staring at me oddly. I shrugged and smiled. Suddenly I felt Hagrid behind me, lifting me into the air and onto Azia.

He turned and did the same to Harry. The difference was Harry protested, while I was happy to get to ride her.

Please don't drop me Azia!

_Don't you worry child, if I did that Hagrid wouldn't be too happy._ She said and gave what I assumed was a slight chuckle.

"Hold on tight Harry!" I shouted as the two Hippogriffs sprinted off and stretched out their mighty wings, taking off into the air.

Harry closed his eyes and gripped Buckbeak's neck, and shouted back, "I don't have much of a choice!"

I laughed and lightened my grip on Azia's neck.

The sensation of flying is incredible. It's like being weightless, soaring through the skies and reaching for the clouds. I glanced over at Harry and grinned, seeing he was enjoying this just as much as I was. As we flew over the water Azia went into a steep dive, pulling up feet away from the water.

She lowered one of her feet, skimming the water with it. Buckbeak was doing the same thing with Harry, and I saw Harry was sitting up, arms stretched out to the side, hollering. I laughed and did the same thing as him, throwing my head back and yelling as loud as I could.

_Having fun?_ Azia asked sounding rather amused.

Yes! You're so lucky you get to do this often.

She laughed and I held onto her neck again.

_If you thought that was fun, try this. Hold on very tightly child. _She instructed and I held on.

Before I knew it she shot up, climbing in altitude. When we reached the peak of it she went leveled out before going into a corkscrew dive, plummeting back down to the earth.

I screamed in a mixture of joy and fear. This lasted for ten seconds she pulled up, flying side by side with Buckbeak. I looked down and saw the clearing, everybody looking up at us in awe.

_Here we go. We're about to land._ She said and we glided down. Hagrid rushed over to us once we landed and first pulled Harry off, then me.

I went to go back into the crowd, but saw Malfoy rushing over, going right to Buckbeak.

"This is easy. If Potter can do it, then anybody can. You're rather ugly aren't you? Nothing scary about you." Malfoy sneered as he practically ran up to Buckbeak. Buckbeak boiled with anger and reared onto his hind legs, clawing at Malfoy's arms.

Before Buckbeak could do further damage I ran in front of Malfoy.

"Buckbeak no!" I shouted at him, squaring my shoulders.

Move away child! I must kill him! Buckbeak roared in my head and reared back. I didn't back off though, not allowing him to intimidate me.

"Buckbeak, if you hurt him Hagrid will get in trouble!" I shouted again, and this time he calmed down a bit more.

He deserves to die! Buckbeak was still angry, but I could tell that he wouldn't get Hagrid in trouble for it.

"No. He's not worth it Buckbeak!" I said, lowering my voice. He pawed at the ground in frustration but backed away nonetheless.

Hagrid ran up behind me and picked Malfoy up, running towards the school with him.

I turned around to see that every single person was staring directly at me. Blushing slightly I walked back into the crowd, standing in between Harry, Ron and Hermione.

...***...

"What happened back there?" Hermione asked me the second we entered the common room.

I sighed, knowing that they would ask me. Ron and Harry were both looking at me expectantly, wanting to know this too.

"I don't really know," I looked around the room to make sure it was empty, "but all that I know is that the Hippogriffs were talking to me in my head."

When I said that it hit me how odd that sounds. I sounded absolutely mental.

To be honest, I didn't actually expect them to believe me.

"That's so cool! How come you never told us that you could do that?" Ron exclaimed looking rather excited.

I frowned at him and rolled my eyes and Hermione smacked him in the arm.

"I just found out when I was approaching Azia. She just suddenly entered my thoughts and we started talking. It's also how I was talking to Buckbeak when he attacked Malfoy." I explained, making my way over to the plush velvet couch.

Harry sat down beside me, putting an arm around my shoulders.

Ever since _that night_ we hadn't really been alone at all. Hermione started giving me all my lessons because Quidditch started, so Harry has no more time to teach me.

I smiled and pulled my legs to my chest, resting me chin on my knees.

"I wonder," I murmured, "if this has anything to do with my gift."

Harry looked over at me.

"It's possible. Have you been looking for it in that book?"

"Yeah. I'm half way through the book and I haven't found a thing yet."

There have been a few things, but this new development might make it easier to distinguish it. My eyes widened when I remembered.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked sounding worried. I shot up to my room, grabbed the large book and brought it back down with me.

"This. I think this might be it, even though it's not really a gift." I said and pointed to one I'm thinking of.

_**The Aura**_

_The Aura is where a witch has been blessed by Mother Nature herself._

_Said witch will be gifted with an extraordinarily large amount of magical power, more so_

_than the average witch. It is a very rare gift, but is also very difficult to control the_

_immense power that comes with it. The only known way to control it is by wearing_

_one of the six elemental sapphires, but only one of them is known to still exist._

_In old times people given Her blessing would be referred to as royalty, and in some_

_places were even worshipped at times._

_Witches with her blessing are able to mentally talk with animals, but once it gets_

_stronger they can talk out loud with animals and understand what they are_

_saying._

_A mental connection can also be established with whoever shares true love_

_with a somebody gifted with this. In rare cases the mental connection goes_

_as far as sharing dreams with one another._

I finished reading it, closing the book quietly.

All three of them were staring at me with their mouths hanging open.

"I think I need to talk to Dumbledore." I murmured before standing up and walking out of the common room.

...***...

I strode through the halls of the school directly to where Dumbledore said his office was. Outside of it I found Professor McGonagall on her way out of the office, and she turned to me.

"Miss Denery, why might you be here?" She asked.

"I need to see Dumbledore Professor," I said, but explained further when she gave me a doubtful expression, "it has to do with my gift."

She automatically nodded and went back towards the office and approached the gargoyles.

I wonder if Dumbledore warned them that this might happen.

"Lemon Drops." She said and the wall disappeared, revealing a large winding stairwell. "Go on now, it's just up those stairs." She said and gave me an encouraging smile. This is the first time I've ever seen her smile. I nodded and walked over to the stairwell, the wall appearing behind me again when I was at the stairwell.

I made my way up the large amount of stairs and found myself at a large oak door. Lifting my hand I went to knock, but let it fall back at my side when I heard somebody say 'come in' from inside the office.

Slowly I opened the door and saw Dumbledore sitting at his desk, looking expectantly at me. I walked in and sat down in the chair across from him.

"I assume you've already figured out why I'm here." I stated.

"Yes. I'm guessing that you've figured out my guess and wish to speak to me about it?" He folded his hands on his desk and peered at me over his half-moon glasses.

"What is the last remaining elemental sapphire?" I blurted out, the question being the first thing that entered my mind.

I felt that it was rather important I knew this.

This sapphire is the only thing that could help me with controlling this power and whether or not I control it isn't an option.

"Ah, the final sapphire. Its most commonly referred to as the dark sapphire. Back when the sapphire were first created darkness was considered an element like fire, earth, water and air." He explained.

"But, in the book it says six elemental sapphires. What's the last one?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows together.

"What few people know is that there are actually two remaining. Just as darkness was considered an element, so was light. Many people believed that the light sapphire was destroyed along with the others, but it was not. A young witch who was also blessed stole it and used it herself. It's still in existence today, but very few people are aware of this."

I nodded, feeling my confusion fade.

How was I going to get one of these though? Considering that the world knows it as the last remaining elemental sapphire, it's likely in a museum or guarded.

I voiced my concerns to Dumbledore, but he smiled.

"When the time is right, you will be given this answer." He said. "That book of yours is very useful you know. When did you manage to figure your gift out?"

"Not very long ago. This afternoon at Care of Magical Creatures I found myself able to talk to the animals. When I got back to the common room it dawned on me that I'd actually completely passed over it." I smirked but it faded. "How did you know about the book?"

He chuckled and picked up a small picture, showing and turning it towards me.

The old woman who I met at the store and gave it to me was the woman in the picture!

"The woman who gave it to you is an old friend of mine. She's also a well-known Seer, a very good one too. She told me about meeting you the day after you were there and about the book. It confirmed my suspicions of what your gift was too." He sighed and looked at the clock. "You should be getting back to your common room now, your friends might be getting worried."

He smiled and nodded towards the door. I hesitated but I stood up and walked over to the door.

"Thank you." I said over my shoulder before I walked out, practically running back to my common room.

...***...

I approached the Fat Lady, and saw she was already asleep.

Gosh, could it really be that late?

"Hello?" I asked, tapping on the painting.

She snorted in her sleep, jumping slightly at hearing me.

"Password?" She asked lazily.

"Fortuna Major." I replied and waited for the painting to swing open.

She frowned and swung open, revealing Harry.

He was sitting on the couch, fast asleep.

Had I really been gone that long?

I walked over to him and gave his shoulders a slight shake, waking him up. He stirred and looked around.

"Wha?" He mumbled. I giggled and sat down beside him, pulling my knees to my chest again, closing my eyes.

"Sorry for waking you up. Just figured you might want to sleep in your bed tonight." I said and gave a lazy smirk.

He looked at me and shook his head.

"I think I'm going to stay down here for a while." He said and peered down at his paper on the table. "Oh... I still have to finish this anyways." He muttered and picked up his quill, beginning on the essay before him.

I smiled to myself as I listened to the scratching of the quill traveling across the parchment.

Every few minutes it would pause for a second before resuming until he had finished.

"And now to re-write it." He muttered but I held his hand, pulling out my wand.

"_Cultus_." I murmured, pointing my wand at the parchment. Instantly all the writing on it became much neater and all the mistakes were corrected.

Harry stared at me in awe, knowing that the spell I just performed is a year ahead of ours.

"How did you know that?" He asked as I put my wand away in its pocket.

I shrugged, not feeling like giving a proper answer. To be truthful I wasn't exactly sure myself. I likely just read it while I read my book and memorized it.

"I dunno." I murmured, my eyes still glued to the fire.

I loved watching the flames sizzle and crack, licking the log eagerly.

The mix of colours always peaked my imagination and I had a lot of really interesting drawings of flames in my sketch book.

For a few minutes we sat in silence, each one waiting for the other to say something. It wasn't exactly awkward, but it's not what I'd call comfortable either really.

"You alright? You seem sort of depressed." He finally asked. I sighed and looked over to him, a frown on my face.

I didn't feel like explaining everything that went on. It was still important for him to know though considering he's my friend.

"To be honest, no I'm not exactly alright. I just have a lot on my mind right now." I said and the frown disappeared from my face. He looked into my weary eyes and pulled me into a hug.

Whoa, not expecting that.

After a second I hugged him back, and we sat there in that position. I rested my head on his shoulder while he placed his chin on my head. This is a lot like our position_that night_. Like I said, we hadn't exactly had much time alone ever since then.

"You can talk to me you know. I make a very good listener." He mused. I looked up at him, raising my eyebrow. I couldn't tell whether or not he was being serious.

I placed my head back on his shoulder and explained everything I Dumbledore told me, finishing with the sapphires. "He talked about it like he knew exactly where both sapphires were located, and that frustrates me! I need one of those, otherwise... otherwise I might lose control at any second."

I'd never really ever felt insecure with myself like I do now. The only time these feelings surfaced were when I talked about my life at home, or about my gift. All those times with Harry.

To him I probably look like an insecure teenage girl.

"Somehow I don't think you will. Since you came to Hogwarts you haven't lost control once. You haven't even come close." He said thoughtfully, gazing at the fire like I do sometimes.

"Doesn't mean I won't." I whispered and gazed down at my hands on my lap. Harry grabbed one of them, holding it tightly in his own.

"I don't think you will."

I couldn't help but smile at this.

My crush on him hasn't faltered at all.

"Thanks. It's just so confusing. I don't ever want myself to do what that boggart did in Defense Against the Dark Arts." I felt the tears pricking my eyes at the thought of that happening to me.

If I ever lost control and started hurting people, I wouldn't be able to live with myself.

"You won't. That boggart showed your worse fear, doesn't mean it's possible." He said in an attempt to reassure me.

"But it is possible, I just have to face it. Getting one of those rings is a priority now." I sighed and noticed something. I actually felt better after talking with Harry. My chest felt lighter and I liked it. I felt more at peace than I had in a while.

For the next ten minutes we sat in silence again, but it was a nice silence. One I could live with. But I did have one question nagging at me, and I blurted it out before I could stop myself.

"Harry, are you worried about Sirius Black?" I asked. He stiffened under me at the question, and I immediately regretted asking him.

"Sometimes. I find it best to keep him out of my mind." He replied, and noticed the expression on my face and he relaxed again. "Don't feel bad about asking. It's alright." He smiled and I nodded.

Without realizing it, I drifted to sleep.

I was vaguely aware of somebody guiding me softly into my bed, but figured it was just a dream.

...***...

A/N:

So I need your help. I don't really like the name of her gift and some ideas would be ULTRA helpful! Just tell me what you think it should be, and I just might change it if I like it.

If you can make it so that it still matches what the gift is about that'd be wicked.

THANKS YA!

Oh, and if you noticed I am adding a few of my own spells to the mix, but I'm mainly keeping them with the ones J.K. Rowling created ;D

Rose xx


	14. Chapter 14

_I do not own Harry Potter._

A/N: I know, I never do this, but this is mainly a warning that this chapter is going to contain a ton of flash backs.

It's not filler, but it does explain what went on after the previous chapter.

I don't really plan to follow much of the third book's story line from here, warning you about that also.

BUT I DO PLAN ON MAKING A SEQUAL! [And more books after that ;D]

So if you feel like skipping, you're going to need to sit tight for a few weeks while I juggle schoolwork and writing!

Thanks!

Rose xx

...*******...

Over the past two weeks, my life had definitely taken a turn for the better.

When I ended up in McGonagall's office, I made a promise to myself. A really, really important promise.

To be honest, it was hard to explain. McGonagall is more like a mother to me than a teacher. She and I share something teachers and students rarely do.

She was more like a mother to me than anything. The mother that I never got to have. The one that was stolen from me as an infant.

Sadly though even her comforting couldn't steal my thoughts away from _him_. There was just no hating him for me. My thoughts constantly lingered on him and how happy we always were together. The laughs, the smiling, the cuddling and the nights spent curled up on the couch comforting one another.

No matter how hard I tried I just couldn't get over him. Especially knowing that he didn't even want to cheat on me in the first place.

Just thinking about it made a heavy guilt twist in my stomach. How I unfairly yelled at him and told him to get the hell out of my life. Not my best moments.

Along with guilt, I felt shame, and a lot of it. I couldn't get over how cruel I was to him. I mean, yeah he cheated, even if he wasn't the one to start it, but I could have at least allowed him to explain.

Right?

I've been desperately missing Hermione and her bucket load of advice. She always knew what to tell me when I felt down.

See, while I've been recovering I've also been hiding out.

Eating all meals in the kitchen, staying out of classes, even sleeping away from the Gryffindor room. I have a special room in McGonagall's private living quarters that I've been taking cover in so that I wouldn't have to face any people.

Yes, I sound like a coward but give me a break here!

I'm getting over something large in my life.

...*******...

_Flashback;_

Raising my hand in front of me I paused, pondering on whether or not I should actually go through with this, but before I could even make up my mind the door was thrusted open.

McGonagall stood there with a dumbfound expression on her face before speaking.

"Mia, what's wrong? Were you crying?" She asked in a motherly voice, ushering me inside her office.

It was rather small containing only a desk and two chairs. One behind the desk the other in front.

No decorations of any sort. Not even a window.

"Y-yeah, I mean... I guess... I mean... I broke up with Harry!" I blurted out and my hand flew up to my mouth as I hastily covered it.

"Oh, dear. It's alright." She softened and began using a motherly voice that rivaled Mrs. Weasleys, something only I ever got to hear.

I shook my head with my mouth open. "How?"

"Because if you broke up with him, you had a reason." She replied and placed a comforting hand over my own.

"I did but I completely regret it now." I sighed.

"Whatever do you mean?" She furrowed her eyebrows together in confusion.

"Professor, are you sure you want to hear me ramble on about stupid teenager problems?" I raised an eyebrow. She couldn't actually want to be bothered with these stupid things.

"Yes. It's better than seeing you wallop around in misery." She mused with an amused smile before allowing her face to become serious again. "I'm serious about that though Mia. If talking about it and even crying about it will make you look less upset and troubled then I'm all ears."

"So you see, I was walking through the halls and I found this new corridor that looked vacant. Out of curiosity I wandered in only to see Harry and Ginny kissing right there." I cried and threw my hands in the air dramatically. She gave me a sympathetic look and I continued. "I flipped out on him in the common room the next morning and didn't let him explain before doing so, only to find out that Ginny snuck up on him."

"I remember my teenage boyfriends. I also remember all the drama they brought," She sighed, "but you and Harry seemed different. You looked more in love even for your age."

Wait, after she said teenage boyfriends, note the plural, I tuned out. Well I heard it all but I was still in disbelief about the first part.

"Boyfriends?" I asked, stressing the plural.

With a slight blush she said hastily, "Yes! I was a teenager too you know, and a rather attractive one at that."

I laughed. I hadn't exactly pegged her as being the beauty queen, or the dating type.

A picture of her in her teenage years that was sitting on her desk caught my eye and I picked it up out of sheer curiosity. Wow, she really was beautiful.

I let out a low whistle, holding up the picture with a suggestive smirk.

"Mia, why I would never!" She exclaimed and snatched the photo back from me with a slight blush appearing on her face.

"Whatever you say Professor." I smirked. "I feel so much better than I did just five minutes ago."

"You know, when your here with I don't mind if you call me Minerva." She said.

I liked it. It's a pretty name.

"Thanks. I still don't know if I can face Harry or anybody else at this moment." I sighed, shaking my head.

"You know, if you really want I can help you with that. I know how much it hurts when a boy breaks your heart." She said with a tone of sympathy in her voice.

Relief rose up in me. I wouldn't have to face him just yet, but there was no avoiding the confrontation eventually. I knew it would happen but I wasn't ready now.

"I really need it. You can't even know how grateful I am right now." I heaved a deep sigh and allowed me shoulders to relax, not even noticing how tense I was.

"I think I can. Now, come along. I'll show you where you're staying. I have room in my personal quarters here, and I can keep you out of class. I will be bringing you your homework though." Minerva winked and led me over to her area in the castle.

It was a pretty room. The walls were a soft lavender with white floral designs that accompanied them. The queen sized bed had covers that were the same lavender colour and the floor was a soft carpet. Even the desk was in perfect sync with the room, white with a spinning desk chair of the same colour.

It was a teenage girl's dream room.

"I love it! But, Minerva, why do you have this room?" I inquired, running over and plopping down on my bed, bouncing softly on it. She smiled at me calling her by her first name. It really rolled off the tongue well.

"This room shapes itself to however the inhabitant wants it to look. Since it was declared your room for the time being it decorated itself to look however you want it to." She explained.

"Again, thank you so much. I really can't even explain how grateful I am for you giving me a route to escape the world." I smiled.

She gave a dismissive wave of the hand, brushing off my constant thank-yous. "Don't mention it dear. Now you're going to be eating your meals in the kitchen with the house elves unless you're willing to face the rest of the school in the Great Hall."

"House elves." I said automatically. The Great Hall was absolutely out of the question.

With a slight smirk she left me to my thoughts.

...*******...

See, that important promise was for me to forget all my problems. No more crying too. I had cried so much more than it could probably be considered hazardous to my health.

I groaned and slammed my head against my desk. "Minerva!" I called desperately.

She shuffled over to my door, peeking her head through the crack as she opened the door, just like she always did.

"Yes dear?" She asked.

"I need your help." I sighed and she walked over. "Can you explain to me what this word is?" I pointed to a rather long word.

"Ah, that word is _improperly_. It means something that is not done properly. Remember, words with either 'im' or 'in' mean that it's not done however the word is." [I don't care on whether or not that's correct xD] She smiled. Thank God this woman had more patience than I had brain cells.

"Thanks! You're a life saver!" I exclaimed and grinned, finally completing my essay. To most people that may not have made sense, but her ways of teaching always helped me out.

"No problem dear. I assume you're done your potions essay?" She assumed and I nodded eagerly, proud of my work. "May I check it over?"

I handed her the paper and she looked it over approvingly, giving a few pleased nods of her head every once in a while.

"So, how is it?" I asked, biting my lip nervously.

"Perfect. Some spelling mistakes, but just use the charm I taught you. It should correct those pesky little problems." She replied and walked back out of the room.

I wonder why she was this nice to me, and not everybody else. I looked at her like my mother when most kids thought she was incompetent of withholding a favourite.

Although she only treated me differently when we're alone, which I'm perfectly okay with. This was my final day in this room. Tomorrow I head back to Gryffindor tower and start classes again the next day.

The main upside though was that my grades had gone up.

I couldn't help but get the nagging feeling that everybody was starting to get worried though.

Even cooped up in here the rumors reached my ears. Some people thought I'd suddenly gone missing, others thought I had just magically died. Honestly it was bloody insane!

...*******...

"So Dobby, what might you have for me?" I asked the little house elf, skipping into the massive kitchen.

Dobby turned from what he was cooking to face me. His little face lit up with a smile as he motioned to the frying pan currently sizzling atop the stove.

"Hello there Mis - I mean Mia." Dobby quickly corrected himself. I'd began forcing him to call me Mia when I began coming here three times a day. I absolutely loathed being called Mistress. To me, it was just like announcing to him that he was a slave.

I couldn't handle that after living with my father my entire life.

"Are you going to tell me what you're cooking or am I going to have to guess?"

"I'm cooking Mia pasta with a creamy sauce and steamed broccoli on the side." He replied looking rather proud of himself.

"Yay! Thank you everybody!" I exclaimed, something I was now known for.

Dobby somehow figured out that steamed broccoli and that really creamy sauce with pasta was my favourite meal that they made here.

He was almost finished too and I could already here my stomach growling in anticipation. The smell was killer.

When Dobby finished and handed the plate to me, I finished it in around three minutes. Dobby smiled and made me as much as I asked for. When I hit third helpings however, I had to cut it there.

"Alright Dobby, I think I'm finished." I laughed and pushed my plate away from me.

"I'll take your plate then Mia. I assume you don't want desert then?" He inquired. I shook my head and got up to leave the kitchen.

I heard the door swing open and turned to face whoever just walked in.

"Mia?"

"Is that really you?"

"Fred? George?" I raised an eyebrow.

What are they doing in here? Nobody but the staff, the house elves and I know how to get in.

"Where have you been?" George asked and pulled me into a tight hug that Fred soon joined into.

"Staying with McGonagall." I admitted sheepishly taking a sudden interest on the paintings on the wall.

"That was unexpected. Harry, Ron and Hermione have been worried out of their minds." George exclaimed and gave me a suspicious glance.

That familiar feeling of guilt welling up inside me returned. That's really just adding insult to injury right there.

"I had a feeling they might be. I just... I just couldn't face Harry right now. Not after what I did to him. McGonagall let me stay with her and keep from classes for a two weeks to let it all settle down." I explained and saw their eyes widen in shock.

"How? She never plays favorites with anybody!" Fred whined and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Maturity of a five year old." I muttered, receiving a pointed glare from Fred.

"He's right though. How did you manage it?" George pursued further. I shrugged.

"Well, she's sort of like a mother to me I guess. You know, the mum that I never had. Apparently she knew what it was like to have boy troubles." I sighed and made my way to leave. "Oh, and I'm returning tomorrow morning!" I added as I walked out the door.

Well that was an odd encounter.

My suspicions were confirmed though when I when George said that. I hated having them all worry about me for nothing, but I just hoped they'd understand!

Hermione probably will. I'm very sure Ron and Harry are going to be completely clueless though when Fred and George tell everything they just heard. Like I knew they would.

They're like teenage girls the way they gossip.

...*******...

I groaned and rolled out of bed. The last thing I wanted to do right now was move back.

Everything just seemed so much worse than it really was. Why do teenagers always have to be so dramatic? I may be included in that but still!

It makes life so difficult and complicated. Much more so than it should be.

"Are you done packing?" Minerva asked, poking her head through the doorway as she always does. I nodded and smiled.

"I'm really going to miss it here you know." I smiled. "I've grown quiet attached."

Minerva chuckled and gave a nod, "Yes I know what you mean. I'm going to miss having you here."

I gave a soft smile and I finished packing in silence.

...*******...

Thankfully the common room was completely empty when I walked back in. Everybody was at breakfast, so I wasn't actually expecting them in here any time soon.

Finally I had to go back. I wasn't getting the option, because I knew that I couldn't run away forever.

I walked up to my room and slowly began putting my stuff away before hearing a squeal from behind me.

"Mia!" Hermione cheered and ran up behind me, tackling me into an extreme bear hug.

"Jeeze Hermione, let me breathe!" I wheezed and detached her arms from around me waist.

"Sorry." She said sheepishly, looking down at the floor. I chuckled and placed the last shirt in my dresser before closing it.

"Don't worry about it." I smirked and hugged her this time. "Did I miss anything while I was gone?" I asked.

"Not really. Everybody was really worried about you though! You just left without telling us anything!" She exclaimed. "And you should have heard Harry tell Ginny off. It was incredible!"

I laughed at the scene as it played out inside my head. The bitch deserves it! Jumping a guy and kissing him when he has a girlfriend!

"I really am sorry about worrying you guys like that. I just, needed some time you know? I wasn't ready to face him after how mean I was." I sighed. She nodded knowingly before glancing down at my wrist. I followed her gaze and noticed the bracelet that adorned my wrist.

"You're still wearing that?" She inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, yeah. Why?" I bit my lip nervously. What was she getting at?

"Oh I get it. You still like it." She answered with a smirk.

I blushed slightly, but didn't even bother denying it. I already could tell how I felt about him. Even after I said that I didn't want to be near him I knew that it was wrong.

Something about him just made me always want to be near him. My heart was drawn to him and I felt that tug whenever I looked at him.

Listen to me! I'm thirteen and talking about _love_.

"I guess I do. But I don't think he likes me back anymore." I sighed and walked over to my bed, plopping down on it lazily. "No normal guy would after how rude I was to him. I know we had our argument but it never got as bad as that had. Neither of us had gotten as bad as I had."

Hermione frowned at me. "You're being so depressing. Be happy! Come on, I don't want anybody else fighting."

"Who's fighting?" I shot up, suddenly all ears.

"Ron and I." She admitted and went on to explain everything that had been happening lately.

About how Harry and Ron had begun ignoring her not long after I left because she turned Harry's broom in that he had gotten and decided to not tell us about. He was going to hear from me about that. And also that Harry had forgiven her, but Ron still hadn't.

"Wait, why did Ron suddenly change his mind?" I narrowed my eyes. He's probably being a prat about something.

"You see Ron was going to forgive me, but Crookshanks killed Scabbers. Ron found a bloodstain on his pillow along with two ginger hairs. He blames me for having his _beloved_ rat dead." She explained.

Wait, what?

"Scabbers isn't dead." I scoffed and shook my head. It was true. While I was in Minerva's private quarters I could sense his presence.

In my free time I had begun trying to hone my skills more with animals. I could even manage talking to them like I would talk to a normal person now. Minerva let me into a secret garden that very few students and staff knew existed, and I had a ton of sketches of it.

Tons of animals lived there and I enjoyed talking to them all.

"What? How?" Hermione asked in disbelief.

"I could sense his presence around the castle." I sighed, before adding something else I had noticed. "There's something different about Scabbers. Something I really don't like. I've never really told anybody, but he almost seems human in some respects."

She raised an eyebrow.

"You're telling Ron this." She said with a tone of finality and grabbed my hand, dragging me down to the common room.

"No I'm not!" I said defiantly and grasped onto the doorframe to keep her from pulling me out of the room. "I can't tell him yet. When I'm ready I will. Ok? Trust me." I frowned and she finally released her tight grip on my arm.

"Fine. You are telling him though." She said and practically stomped out of the small room.

...*******...

I sat cross legged in the garden, my sketch book in front of me.

This was my favourite area of the entire castle. It was serene.

All the flowers were charmed to grow in either red, white, purple or pink. In the middle of the room was a pond filled with two catfish. One black and white, the other orange, white and black.

I just felt completely safe here. Like nothing could get to me or harm me.

Whenever I needed calming down I just came here and instantly calmed down. I even named the fish!

The black and white one was YinYang and the orange, white and black one was named Nino. My special sketch bag was now bursting at the seams from everything that I had crammed in there.

My thoughts had been cramming my head and here I could sort them all out.

Luckily I had managed to sneak out of the common room without anybody seeing me. To keep from having to talk to Harry I had kept myself cooped up all day in my room, even though I had classes.

Minerva said that if I still wasn't up to it classes today that I was allowed to take one last day off. Tomorrow though I had to suck it up and face them all.

Absentmindedly I began sketching a pink rose that was tinged white on the edge of the petals.

It was nice, feeling all my problems slowly drifting from me and allowing myself to be immersed by the beauty of the garden.

"Ahem." Somebody cleared their throat from the entrance of the garden, causing me to jump slightly.

I whipped my head around, catching a glimpse of who was talking to me.

"Oh, hi Harry." I said awkwardly, standing up and brushing myself off.

"Hey Mia. I just came to tell you that curfew was half an hour ago." He smirked and walked away, leaving me standing alone in the garden.


	15. Chapter 15

_I do not own Harry Potter._

...*******...

"I miss Scabbers." Ron whined rather loudly from the other side of the common room, clearly intending for the statement to reach Hermione's ears.

Wow. It was only noon and he was already bringing this up.

Again.

I growled quietly, focusing down on my homework. Ron, being the prat he is, still hadn't forgiven Hermione about something that didn't truly happen. No matter how much I _insisted _that I could still feel Scabber's presence he just wouldn't have it.

We were well into April now. The flowers had begun blooming and there was a warm, gentle breeze for the majority of the day. Most people were so focused on

Many things had occurred over the past three months. The biggest, and most often the worst, problem was the constant bickering of Ron and Hermione. Mainly Ron taking any chance he gets to take a dig at Hermione.

Even though it had happened months ago Ron was still 'mourning' over his beloved rat. I could not fathom why until I noticed the intense glares he constantly shot at Hermione. He would never let her live this down. Really I didn't get it.

While Hermione and Ron were biting each other's heads off constantly Harry and I floated around in an awkward silence.

We didn't hate each other at all but we certainly weren't dating again. Again whenever it was just the two of us alone we sat in an uncomfortable silence that neither of us attempted to break.

I knew that he still had feelings for me the entire time though.

Oddly enough, our connection had still managed to grow during this time span. He was likely being too much of an ignorant idiot to notice, but I sure had. Ever since Harry and I broke up Malfoy decided he'd take a swing at dating me. Well, it's never worked out for him, but he never stops trying.

_Flashback_

"Hey, Denery." Yes, he still hadn't grown up enough to actually use my proper name. I could see Harry frowned from beside me. He could already tell what the outcome of all this would be.

Ron and Hermione are arguing again in the common room so Harry and I decided to go for a walk. Not like either of us are really talking much, but it's better than listening to them screaming.

I scowled and spun on my heels, seeing the bleach blond Slytherin Prince striding over towards me. Oh joy.

"What Malfoy?" I sighed in annoyance at his smug smirk. Did he really think I would go out with him?

He strode up to me flanked by his cronies Crabbe and Goyle.

"You're going out with me." He commanded and I raised an eyebrow, surprised by how straightforward he was being.

"No, I don't believe I am." I replied and turned to walk away. Malfoy grabbed my wrist though, holding me in place.

I smacked his hand away, just about ready to punch him directly in the jaw. The entire hallway was deserted at the moment. It was just after dinner and most students had already filed out of the corridors and into their common rooms. A few lingered, but not many.

"Why not?" He whined and I stared at him in disbelief.

Is he serious? Honestly this boy has taken every chance he could get to insult me and he has the nerve to ask me out?

"Because you are a prat. All year you've been doing is riding my ass and insulting me all year! You even enjoyed my misery while I was confined to my father's basement, _if you know what I mean_. How the hell can you be asking me whyI won't go out with you?" I hissed and stalked away, Harry hot on my heels.

Odd. I could have sworn that I was feeling emotions, but not ones that were my own. They didn't really influence me all that much but they were still there nonetheless.

It was like every time Malfoy opened his mouth, a flash of jealously streaked through my heart. I got the feeling that those were Harry's emotions but what was he jealous for?

_End of Flashback_

"I swear to God Ron," I threatened, "if you bring up Scabbers again I _will _murder you. He's not even dead."

Trust me that was no open threat. I'm very sure Ron knew that as well.

"He is! I have proof!" Ron exclaimed. He was referring to the bloodstain on his pillow and the stray ginger coloured cat hair that lay upon it.

"That's not proof." I scoffed. Harry and Hermione both shared an uneasy glance, but I didn't care. He was going to finally hear me out.

"It is! His blood, Mia, was on my pillow and he disappeared! I haven't seen any trace of him since that day!" Ron almost yelled, making a point of shooting Hermione a dirty look.

"Ron, I don't care if you say that but I know for a fact that he is not dead." I said in a much calmer tone than his.

I managed to hide my annoyance with him but barely. Why the hell did he glare at Hermione? She's not even in the conversation!

"What proof do you have? None. I actually have solid proof." He smirked. He thought that he won this little row?

"You know very well I have all the proof I will ever need." I hissed and stood up from my chair, walking over to him. "He. Is. Not. Dead. So stop blaming Hermione for something she didn't do! First of all, _if_ Scabbers had in fact been eaten, Hermione didn't do shit! Her cat did, and you have zero reason to shove this all on her. Second, have you even looked to see how upset you're making her? She's been close to miserable because you are too stubborn and have too thick of a skull to listen to her!"

My voice was raised but I wasn't yelling. Yelling always seemed to lead me down a dark path that resulted in me losing control.

Ron stared down on me. The tension in the air was so thick that you probably could have sliced it with a knife.

"Oh, and what is your proof?" He shoved his chair aside as well before closing the distance remaining between the two of us. We were literally yelling in each other's faces.

"I have told you so many times Ron. So many freakin' times and you haven't listened! Not once! I have been sensing him all around the school but you're too good to listen to me. Too stuck up on himself to admit that maybe he was wrong." I retorted, and he laughed.

Ron fucking laughed.

"Your stupid powers are no proof! I can't believe that I bought any of that rubbish in the first place. Your 'gift' must be faulty." He snorted and I couldn't take it anymore.

I pulled my hand back and slapped him across the face with as much strength as I could muster. The crack from the skin-to-skin contact resonated throughout the room.

"How dare you!" I screamed, my eyes flashing a dark gold colour. His eyes widened and he backed off slightly, sensing the danger he's gotten himself into. "Normally I can put up with your stupidity but I have had enough of it! I know you're ignorant but this is a whole new level! You crossed a line that should never be crossed Ronald Weasley!" I used his full name. This is another telltale sign that he's in deep trouble with me. "I hope I never speak to you again. If I never have to see that ugly red-headed face again for the rest of my God damned life I will be happy!"

I stormed out of the common room and slammed the portrait shut, receiving angry protests from Sir Cadogan.

You know that feeling of regret, that one you get after yelling at a friend.

I don't feel it.

...*******...

"Harry, I have no intention of apologizing." I frowned in annoyance, barely glancing up from the book I was reading. This was the fifth time I had told him this but he wasn't going to stop asking.

After I stormed out of the common room he chased after me, bombarding me with requests to go back and talk it out with Ron.

I could sense that he was starting to feel desperation, but I felt no pity.

There was no reason for me to waste my time and go apologize to that bloke.

"I never said you have to apologize." Harry said with a small sigh of annoyance.

He's determined, but I can tell he'll falter. If I push hard enough he will give up. There's no way I'm going back to that idiot today.

"Yes but there is no way we can have a decent conversation with each other and not end up screaming. He went way too far Harry, even you know it." I said and finally closed my book.

I wasn't enjoying reading this, and I had no intentions of opening the book again until Harry left.

"I know I just wish that he had watched his mouth. What's worse is that I don't think he even felt bad." Harry admitted. Finally he had given up just like I knew he would. He then looked at me, a look of concern slowly drifting onto his face. "Are you sure you're alright? You just seem so upset."

"Yeah. It's just; I feel sort of betrayed by him, 'ya know?" He nodded in reply, staring out the window instead of at me. I looked to where his gaze was directed and saw Hedwig standing at the window tapping continuously on the glass.

Harry and I both jumped up and walked over to the window to let her in.

She jumped in and ruffled her feathers before giving Harrys hand a small nip. In return he handed her an owl treat and pulled the note off of her leg, reading it out loud.

_Dear Harry, Mia, Ron and Hermione._

_Buckbeak's trial just ended. I did everything exactly as we practiced and they heard me out. _

_A few of them began to agree with me but whenever Lucius Malfoy looked at them they _

_stopped talking. I'm pretty sure that he's threatening them or sometin because right after_

_I read it they said that Buckbeak was guilty and sentenced him to death._

_They're gettin it over right away though and the execution is being held tomorrow._

Harry looked up at me with a look of horror on his face.

Buckbeak only attacked because he was provoked! Hagrid warned Malfoy, that little prick, and of course Malfoy just ignored him!

"Buckbeak didn't do anything!" I exclaimed.

"I know. We both know that," Harry said, motioning to the two of us, "but they don't. Even if they did though from the way Hagrid explains it Lucius just threatens them into doing what he wants."

"You should go tell Hermione." I sighed, knowing how upset she was going to be over this. Not that I can blame her. Honestly we all worked so hard on it and all of us knew that Buckbeak was innocent.

"Wait, don't you mean we?" Harry frowned. I was sort of dumping this on him, but I needed some time to think right at this moment.

"No, you. I need to go somewhere to think right now is all." I sighed and he sighed. At least he understood.

Harry nodded and he set off in the direction of our common room while I walked into the forbidden forest.

...*******...

The forest was best after curfew. Honestly, I couldn't care less that I'm not allowed in here. To everybody else this place may be dangerous but the centaurs and every other creature that lingers here welcome me with open arms.

"Aura Holder Mia." I turned around to face whoever called my name. With a small smile I bowed my head in respect to the elder.

"Greetings Elder Zayne. Spending an evening stargazing?" I said politely. Zayne smiled at my formality and nodded his head in response. He was standing a few feet away from me, one of his hoofs on the rock and his arms crossed across his chest.

"Yes. It is a lovely evening." He said vaguely, turning his head to face the clear sky.

The stars shone so magnificently tonight. There's just nothing that compares to the forest at night.

A lot of people would likely consider it slightly creepy here at night. The slight fog that hovers just above the ground, the way the moonlight shines through the branches of the tree's and the lake. It was my overall favourite place to stay.

"So you've noticed it too," I gazed up at the sky as well, reading the stars, "that something's coming I mean. I don't know for sure what but it's not good." I sighed. No matter how hard I tried I just could not figure out how the centaurs are so good at this.

"Child, that is for you to figure out." He replied. I turned my head, gazing at the aged centaur in wonder. How could he expect me to figure that out? "You know, Saturn is very bright tonight." He said suddenly.

I raised an eyebrow, curious of what he's implying. Racking my brain I tried my best to remember the relevance that Saturn held.

The centaurs taught me a little about reading the stars, but not everything they know, something that I can respect. Saturn and Mars were both a sign of bad luck or trouble. Great! All I needed in my life was _more_ trouble.

"So you're trying to warn me about something to come?" I inquired.

He let out a slow chuckle and shook his head.

"Yes. You were always very quick to learn child." He smiled at me, his amber eyes warm and kind.

I gave him a rueful smile, hearing the rare hint of sarcasm in his voice. "I wasn't that bad you know." I laughed lightly.

He had been the one who took up the job of teaching me the way of the centaurs. Their beliefs, habits and mainly the way they read the stars. It taught me that Divination was a giant crapload. Not that the information came as much of a surprise. Hermione happily pointed it out every chance she got.

"Well you we had rather high expectations of you considering that you are the Aura Holder. It brings us great reassurance to see that Mother Nature gives the right witch her blessing. Most don't even bother to try and learn our ways." He sighed and trotted over to me.

"Really?" I asked in surprise. He gave a nod as his reply, smiling at me.

"Mia, is that you?" I heard Harry asked, causing me to jump slightly.

I clutched my chest, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Yeah. Please Harry, don't scare me like that." I sighed, looking towards him. He smiled slightly and walked towards me.

"Sorry. I had a feeling I might find you here." He smirked and glanced over at Zayne. "Who's this?"

"His name's Zayne. He's the elder of a centaur tribe here in the forest." I introduced him, motioning at Zayne. The old centaur gave a slight bow which thankfully Harry returned. "Zayne, this is Harry Potter."

Zayne raised an eyebrow at me before returning his attention to Harry.

"Nice to meet you Zayne. I've just come to grab Mia and bring her back to school. She's been out here for hours." Harry smirked and walked closer towards me.

"Ah, I see. Well it was nice to meet you Harry Potter." Zayne smiled as Harry dragged me away by my hand. "I hope I get to see you again. Alive." He added once Harry and I were out of earshot.

...*******...

Harry and I walked into the common room that night with the usual silence drifting over us.

"How's Hermione? I mean, with Buckbeaks execution and all tomorrow?" I asked, shattering the silence. Harry glanced over at me and grimaced at the memory.

"Plenty of tears. Much more than I would have liked to be honest." Harry sighed and the silence overtook us again.

Neither of us knew exactly what to say. There was so much that _needed _to be said, but neither of us knew how to go about it.

Out of boredom I shifted my mind, allowing Harry's emotions to drift and blend with my own.

Right now he had a jumble of emotion, none of them positive. The main one though was longing. Does that count as negative? I guess it's a bit of both really. What was he longing for though?

My answer came rather quickly though when he grazed his soft lips over my own, not quiet kissing me but rather teasing me. I stiffened slightly. I hadn't even noticed him drawing closer to me.

Without warning I felt him press his lips to mine in a real kiss.

Slowly I allowed my arms to wrap around his neck, the feelings I felt for Harry flooding back into my heart.

I smiled as he suddenly pulled away, a deep crimson hue evident on his cheeks. How I miss seeing his blush. It was always so cute and innocent, like a small child flushed with embarrassment.

"Sorry I just…" He trailed off, not finding it in himself to meet my gaze.

"You have nothing to be sorry about Harry." I replied, grabbing his hand softly. "I've... I've actually missed you being there you know." I admitted and saw a faint smile flicker on his lips.

"Is that so?" He chuckled and I blushed this time, hiding my face with my hair.

He smirked and pushed a stray strand of strawberry blond hair behind my ears. I glanced back up at him, smiling lightly.

These were the moments I missed most of all. Where we just enjoy being next to each other, not snogging non-stop like some other couples our age. Most people thought we secretly sucked face the entire day in my or Harry's room, but we're not into that.

I allowed my mind to wander, bringing thoughts of the forest tonight into my head. Should I tell Harry? I bit my lip like I always do when I'm nervous and turned my face away from his.

"Mia, what's wrong?" He asked, probably fearing that he pushed me too far.

I shook my head and managed a small smile, turning my face to him again.

"Harry, there's something I should tell you." I started, taking in a deep breath. He's probably going to think I'm just a crackpot.

"What is it?" He insisted, a slight tone of worry creeping into his voice.

I had begun to full on chew on my lip, unsure of how to continue. There was a small shot of pain and I felt warm blood trickle from my bottom lip. Was I really biting that hard?

Harry raised his hand, wiping the blood off with his finger. He held up the droplets of blood that now sat on his finger and raised an eyebrow at me.

"You're going to think I'm a crackpot." I muttered, voicing my thought. He snorted and I rolled my eyes. "Well, you see, it was about something I saw in the stars tonight." I looked over to him and noticed he was holding in slight laughter. I smacked him on the arm and throwing him a playful glare, feeling slightly offended. "Don't laugh! I warned you!"

He sighed and managed to stifle his laughter. "It's just, you said that Divination was completely stupid and unreliable, yet you trust what you read in the stars? I just find it a tad suspicious is all." He answered honestly, cringing at what he might get from this reply.

"I really don't care!" I exclaimed indignantly. "The centaurs all taught it to me!"

"Still, it could still be unreliable." He reasoned with me.

I frowned at him, wishing he'd just trust me.

"Look, Harry, have you ever wondered why centaurs are always regarded as intelligent creatures?" I asked and noticed he nodded slowly, curious about where I'm going with this. "They're so smart because they take time to read the stars, learning and listening. I'm about 95% sure that Zayne knows what's happening."

He sighed, defeated and merely nodded. I'm always right.

We were silent for a long time after this, neither of us knowing exactly what to say. I slowly placed my head on his shoulder, feeling him place his head on top of mine.

"You don't need to be scared about what might happen tomorrow." Harry murmured into my hair, sensing my emotions.

It was true. I was scared out of my shiz. I've just got a sinking feeling that whatever this is about that it might have something to do with Sirius Black. Everybody's been on edge about him ever since Ron got attacked by him in his bed.

Plus tomorrow was Buckbeak's execution. If I was anywhere near him he was going to reach out to me. I don't know if I can handle that.

"How can I not be at least a little scared? I have to listen to Buckbeak if I'm anywhere close to him while they're executing him." I frowned, leaving out the Sirius Black part. Best that Harry not know about that.

"Then we'll just keep you away from him tomorrow." He smirked, making it sound about a hundred times easier than it actually is.

"I can't. I have Care of Magical Creatures tomorrow anyways, so I _have _to see him." I frowned and shook my head. I don't know if he'd understand!

He doesn't have to hear what Buckbeak's saying. He knows that there's something up and if he sees the executioner then he's going to know exactly what's happening.

"I do understand." He sighed and I looked up at him, slightly confused.

"How do you know I said that?" I asked him.

"What do you mean? You said that out loud." He frowned, just as confused as I am.

Slowly a smile crept onto my lips as I realized what was happening here.

"Welcome to the kingdom that is my mind." I said before getting up, seeing that he understood.

*_Night Mia._* Harry spoke in my mind as I drifted off, my smile not faltering one bit.

…*******…

A/N:

Okays, so I hope this chapter was up to all of your standards! And if you can't already tell, I plan on ending this in four or five chapters. Maybe.

Odds are, this is totally going to stretch out to be six or seven, but really who knows!

So as you can tell, Harry and Mia established their adorable mental connection and they are BACK TOGETHER!

Sorry if my latest chapters really haven't been up to standards. I gots no excuse for crappy writing xP

ANYWAY!

To all you fans who are still holding strong for me out there and still reading, ILY!

Thanks!

Rose xx


	16. Chapter 16

_I do not own Harry Potter._

...*******...

"Look, 'Mione, I don't know about this." I murmured as she dragged me through the desolate castle corridors.

We were heading out to Hagrid's hut, Harry and Ron scurrying not far behind us.

At first Buckbeak's trial was scheduled to be around 6 o' clock tonight but for some reason it got changed to noon. The second Hagrid sent word of this to us Hermione sprinted out of the common room with her hand firmly clamped on my wrist.

The entire walk I've been protesting but she wasn't even listening anymore. My complaints were lost to her because she only had a single thought on her mind. Saving Buckbeak.

Finally she came to an abrupt halt, causing me to run head first into her.

"What is it?" I inquired. She spun around and shushed me, her finger on her lips.

I raised a questioning eyebrow but I soon got my answer.

"... I almost want to watch." I heard Malfoy sneer, likely bragging to his brainless cronies.

I walked forward, peeking my head around the corner to get a look at Malfoy. He was standing there at the path to Hagrid hut, leaning against one of the many rock pillars with Crabbe and Goyle faithfully standing on either side of him, each one hanging on his every word. They treat the git like he's a bloody god or something.

"Father told me that the oversized bird is finally getting executed today." He said with a mixture of glee and pride. "Father also told me that I wasn't allowed to watch."

I grit my teeth and clenched my jaw, keeping myself from running up to him and punching him square in the jaw.

"Wow! I wish my father was that cool." Crabbe commented, scratching his head. I rolled my eyes.

They think Lucius Malfoy is cool? He's a bloody Death Eater! Mind you, both of their parents are Death Eaters as well.

"I bet you do. It's funny too, getting to watch that filthy mudblood Granger and Denery work so hard to help that bird only for it to be killed." Malfoy snorted, clearly finding this whole situation highly amusing.

My temper lashed out and I heard a rock inches away from his head crack before exploding into tiny pieces. They pieces flew in all directions, showering the Slytherin boys in a thin layer of dust and rubble.

Shit!

Hermione sent me a heated glare as well as Ron and Harry who both recently caught up to us.

"Who's there?" Malfoy asked, his steely gray eyes darting around the clearing frantically. He relaxed slightly when nobody revealed themselves and continued with his talk. The more I heard, the more my temper flared.

I balled my fists, my nails digging deep into my palms. Slowly blood trickled from my hands and landed on the ground.

"I only wish that they could make a law against being a mudblood. Then we could get Granger executed." He smirked and Crabbe and Goyle roared with laughter to show they agree.

Finally neither Hermione nor I could take it any longer. We both rushed forward, Hermione whipping out her wand and jabbing it into his neck, pinning him to the rock pillar he was casually leaning against.

"_Say. That. Again._" She snarled, her eyes dancing with anger.

It was different. I'd never seen Hermione this angry even though he calls her a mudblood at least once a day. Something just snapped inside her this time I guess. Considering how mad she already was at them, it didn't come as a surprise to me that she finally flipped out on him.

Malfoy whimpered rather weakly and cowered beneath her menacing glare.

Harry and Ron hurried out behind us. They knew better than to ever try and stop Hermione when she's angry.

"Please don't hurt me!" He pleaded; his face had drained of every ounce of colour it ever held despite being pale in the first place.

"Give her a good reason to." I growled and pulled my own wand out of my robe pocket. His eyes widened at seeing the wand and I smirked.

Now he knows how it feels for the kids he tortures on a daily basis purely to get sick amusement.

"Hermione stop! It's not worth it!" Ron moaned, approaching her and putting a hand on her arm. She hesitated but jerked away from Malfoy, eyeing him up with a look of disgust.

She may have finished but I sure as hell wasn't done. He needed to know that treating people like he does just _is not _okay.

I quickly pulled my hand back and delivered a blow directly to his nose. Hermione obviously had the same idea because she too whirled around suddenly, retracting her fist and punched him in the jaw with so much force that he fell to the ground.

He scrambled back on his feet and sprinted away screaming like a little girl.

"Whoa..." Ron murmured, obviously shocked that Hermione would ever pull a stunt like that.

Shaking her hand Hermione looked rather surprised with herself.

"That felt really good." She said and grinned. I smirked in reply and unclenched my fists, taking note of the large wounds in them from my nails.

There were still small amount of blood oozing from the open cuts.

Ron and Hermione didn't notice but I could tell Harry did. While the two of them began to walk away, Harry approached me, catching my wrist.

I began walking with Harry at my side. He gingerly held up my palm and looked at the gashes.

_*You alright? Those look like they really hurt.* _Harry spoke in my mind, obvious corner lacing his words.

I offered him a weak smile and nodded as we kept walking down to Hagrid's hut.

_*I'm fine. It was the only thing I could to keep from making Malfoy's head explode.*_ I snorted at the thought of Malfoy's head exploding. Harry rolled his eyes beside me and we continued walking down the winding path towards Hagrid's.

...*******...

It didn't take long before we were standing in front of the small, rundown hut.

I had just barely managed to slip past Buckbeak without him noticing me. A strong pang of guilt streaked through my heart, but I couldn't handle having to talk to him again.

"Hagrid, we know you're in there." Hermione said as Ron pounded on the door for the fifth time.

Finally Hagrid opened the door. Overall he looked like crap.

His eyes were still puffy and bloodshot from crying, his face had become gaunt from weeks of depression and he looked like he could break down in tears at any given moment.

"Oh, hey. What're you lot doin' down 'ere?" He asked, attempting to sound normal. I knew from the second that he opened the door that this was eating away at him.

Before I knew what I was doing my arms were wrapped around him in a large hug. It was the most comforting I could even think of doing.

He returned the hug and a single solitary tear shone in his deep black eyes.

"You don't have to pretend Hagrid." I smiled softly.

He gave a small nod and led us into his hut. The four of us sat down at his table and he made tea for us all, pulling out four massive mugs from his cupboard and setting them down on the counter.

_*He's taking this a lot better than I thought he would.*_ Harry commented and I shook my head.

_*No, he's not. He's taking this _exactly _how I thought he would. He's just putting up a fake appearance so we don't worry about him.*_ I replied knowingly and he looked at Hagrid, and I mean really looked at him.

His normally firm hands were shaky and unstable. The usual cheery smile was replaced with a permanent frown. The worst one was what really tipped me off.

That happy twinkle in his eye had disappeared altogether. Now his eyes seemed distant and saddened.

"Hagrid, you know you can talk to us, right?" Hermione asked, a slight tone of desperation entering her voice. He was worrying all of us!

"O' course. I jus' don' feel like talkin at the momen'." Hagrid replied gruffly, pouring steaming hot tea into the mugs and setting them down at the table.

Hermione frowned and Ron just remained silent.

_*See what I mean. He never would have used that tone with Hermione normally.* _I reasoned. I could sense Harry agree.

He always uses a softer tone with the four of us when we talk to him.

"Anyways, what'er you four doin' here anyways?" He asked.

"Hermione. She dragged us down here for Buckbeak's execution or something. She said she wanted to say goodbye to him." I winced, feeling guilt knot in my stomach.

I should have been saying goodbye to him as well.

"Oh. Well, he's outside if you want ter talk ter 'im." Hagrid replied and walked over to the door, opening it for us.

"Look, Hagrid are you sure there's nothing we can do?" I exclaimed suddenly. He turned to look at me.

"Yes. Stupid Malfoy, threatening all o' the other council memb'rs." He muttered darkly.

I raised an eyebrow, seeing Hagrid's expression go from depressed to angry.

"So you're just going to give up?" Ron exclaimed in disbelief, standing up from his chair.

"There's nothin' I can do! I don' wanna give up but I have no way out!" Hagrid cried and tears poured out of his eyes.

"Then fight! Get witnesses! It's Malfoy's fault not Buckbeaks!" Hermione countered and she too stood up from her chair.

Hagrid frowned and shook his head, flopping down on his bed. The wood creaked under his weight but didn't crack.

"No ma'er what we do the council _will not _change the'r verdict." He replied and slumped against the wall of his hut.

My mouth hung open slightly. I'd never seen him just give up like that.

He barely even tried to stop them! He just gave up and accepted that Buckbeak was going to be killed.

The mug in my hand cracked slightly and tea seeped out from the small opening.

_*Please Mia, calm down. I don't want you to break anything.* _Harry pleaded, grasping my hand under the table. I winced when he touched the gashes and he loosed his grasp.

_*Sorry. I'm just mad that Hagrid gave in so easily. I thought he loved Buckbeak but he just accepted the verdict and started moping.* _I sighed and felt my anger slowly ebb away.

_*It's alright. Have you changed your mind at all about saying goodbye to Buckbeak?* _He asked. I gave a nod and looked towards the door.

_*Yeah, but not yet." _I replied and turned to Hermione and Ron. Both of them still looked rather put off by the attitude Hagrid was displaying.

Harry stood up and walked over by the window. He frowned, staring at Buckbeak being chained to a post.

"Why is he chained to a post?" Harry asked, turning to face Hagrid.

"So that he doesn' fly away." Hagrid replied simply, gathering up the mugs from the table and dropping them into the sink.

They landed with a loud clank and I could have sworn I heard a few cracks.

"Ow!" Harry exclaimed and I turned to face him. He was rubbing his head and clutching a small snail shell in his hands. "This just hit me in the head!"

I picked it up from his hands and looked outside. I saw something that made me jump slightly, but I knew better than to say anything.

There, behind the pumpkins was a very familiar head of bushy hair. She caught my eye and a look of sheer horror appeared on my face but I winked at her and gave a slight nod.

I had figured out she was using a time-turner to get to her classes a little while ago. She would suddenly appear behind us without warning. Ron and Harry were still completely clueless but they're boys. They probably don't even know what it is.

She seemed to calm down and motioned to Buckbeak. They were going to save him! My heart soared and I smiled widely and gave another small nod.

I turned back around and noticed that they were completely oblivious to me. Perfect!

Suddenly I felt something hit my head causing me to whip around. I could see Hermione desperately pointing to the winding path down to Hagrid's hut.

My blood ran cold at what I saw.

"Shit!" I cursed and everybody looked at me.

I could see everybody coming down the path. Dumbledore, the council, the executioner and even the Minister of Magic himself.

"What is it?" Harry asked as I ducked down from the window.

"They're almost here. The council, Dumbledore, the Minister, and even the executioner. We need to leave. Now." I replied and headed to the backdoor, grasping the handle.

"Wait. Before you go I have something for you Ron." Hagrid said, shuffling over to his cabinets and pulling out a small metal cage. He reached in and pulled out a rat, which instantly began wiggling around in his grip, and handed it over to Ron. "I believe this belongs to you."

"Scabbers!" Ron exclaimed gratefully, hugging the rat close to his body.

Hermione raised an eyebrow at Ron who stared at her guiltily.

"You really are a jerk." She muttered and followed me as I walked out the backdoor carefully. I darted over to the large pumpkins which shielded us perfectly from view.

I motioned for them to follow me with my hand and they too sprinted over, taking cover behind the overgrown vegetables.

We waited for the large group of them to pass over before running out from our cover and back up the thin cobblestone path.

I heaved a deep sigh of relief once we were safely out of view. We turned to go back to the school when a single sound rang out.

The sound of an axe hitting the ground.

My eyes slowly widened at the horror of the realization. Buckbeak's dead.

Dead.

Gone.

They didn't make it in time!

Tears sprung to my eyes as the idea of it all hit me like a brick wall. I hadn't even said goodbye.

I didn't allow any tears fall though. As quickly as I could I wiped away the tears forming away from my eyes.

"He's gone." Hermione croaked, grasping onto Ron's shirt and crying into it. Ron and Harry both looked to me and I nodded a confirmation.

"We didn't even get to say goodbye." I murmured and they both nodded.

"Ow!" Ron yelped, looking down at his hand. There were small droplets of blood now forming from a set of bite marks. "Scabbers bit me!" He exclaimed and I looked over to the rat.

_"Why did you bite him?" _I asked and the rat directed its beady gaze towards me.

_"Because he needs to let me go!" _The rat squeaked desperately and began squirming in Ron's grasp again.

_"He needs to let you go? Why?" _I inquired, this time a little more forcefully.

_"That man wants to kill me! He wants me dead!" _Scabbers replied and finally succeeded in escaping from Ron.

Ron jumped back in surprise and cried out.

"Scabbers! Come back!" Ron exclaimed, chasing after the frantic animal across the grass.

"No!" I shouted at Ron, in hopes he might stop chasing the rat. Something told me that my suspicions about him not really being what he seems to be were right. There was definitely something off about that old rat, and I needed to find out.

Harry, Hermione and I began rapidly pursuing Ron and the runaway rat down the clearing.

Finally Ron managed to catch up and tackle Scabbers, catching him in an iron grip.

I almost smiled but sensed something rather disturbing from behind me.

"Nobody. Move." I muttered softly, and everybody instantly froze.

_*What is it?* _Harry asked rather panicked.

_*There's somebody behind us.* _I replied. As if on cue a soft growl sounded behind us, sending soft chills up my spine.

Harry's eyes widened beside me and suddenly a black blur soared above us, landing gracefully on the ground in front of Ron.

It bounded forward and tacked Ron, dragging him away by his ankle.

"Ron!" All three of us shouted at once, watching in horror as our friend got dragged away.

Harry desperately dived at Ron's hand but missed and he was pulled away by the mysterious black dog underneath the Whomping Willow.

The three of us ran up to the tree but instantly backed away. I shook my head and ran at it, ignoring all the protests my brain was making.

Hermione and Harry both shouted my name and I whipped my head around and saw a thick tree branch rapidly approaching.

I attempted to jump out of the way only for it to connect with my stomach. My body flew through the air, hitting the ground hard.

Pain seared in my side and I gasped, clutching the spot where it hit. I could already feel a warm, sticky liquid spreading through my side and soaking my clean white shirt.

Gritting my teeth I stood again, ignoring the pain. I glanced at Harry, who alongside Hermione, was trying to get through the Whomping Willow's many defenses and into the small hole which Ron was dragged down minutes ago.

It didn't take long before Hermione too was swept up by a branch and swung around. I ran forward and grasped her hand only to be thrown ruthlessly through the air as well.

Hermione screamed and I could tell Harry was attempting to help us but to no avail. Then suddenly I was jerked off the branch and tumbled into a small underground are.

I landed on top of Harry who let out a small noise of pain but didn't say a word. He helped Hermione and I back up on our feet.

"Sorry about landing on you." I smirked and he rolled his eyes.

"Don't worry 'bout it. Let's get going." He said and we carefully made our way through the underground tunnel.

I frowned. I had no clue where we were.

"_Lumos._" I murmured. Suddenly the tip of my wand erupted in a shining light, illuminating the tunnel.

Harry seemed to be thinking along the same lines. "Where are we?" He asked, looking towards Hermione.

"I think we may be under Hogsmeade." She murmured, glancing around the damp tunnel.

I nodded, sensing something really odd. It just didn't feel right yet I couldn't put my finger on it.

_**Drip, drop, drip, drop.**_

The steady drip of water from the ceiling resonated throughout the tunnel, adding to the eerie silence that had engulfed us.

I couldn't help but glancing around nervously. I felt more on edge than I had in a long time.

My senses were going crazy and every fiber of my being was telling me to leave. To turn around right then and there and leave this tunnel.

Yet, even though I was still mad at Ron, I couldn't just abandon him. He was still my friend no matter how idiotic he had been.

I furrowed my eyebrows in frustration as I continued to try and sort out what it was that I had been feeling. It was hard.

Trying to sort out what certain things was like walking around a dark room. You can't see a thing, but with a flick of a switch you can shine light on everything and suddenly your able to see.

Finally we saw a feeble light at the end of the tunnel. All three of us sprinted forward and entered a room.

"Wait a second. Is this... is this the shrieking shack?" Harry asked. Hermione nodded and we wandered around the floor until we came across a single room.

There was a bed, a broken down desk and a small bench that was pushed up against a wall. Each piece of furniture though was covered in a thin layer of dust.

Sitting in the corner though was the one we'd been searching for. Ronald Weasley.

He looked at us and his eyes widened. I couldn't tell if it was in fear for himself or for us.

"Harry, Mia, Hermione." He mumbled. "No... It's a trap! That wasn't a dog!" He moaned and the truth dawned on me.

Once again we heard a soft growl from behind us and we all spun around. There stood that same black dog who tackled Ron. Now though, I knew who he was before he changed into his human form.

Sirius Black.

He stood and grinned, shaking his head.

Flick.

Ladies and gentleman, my light.


	17. Chapter 17

_I do not own Harry Potter._

...*******...

Instinctively Harry, Hermione and I all whipped out our wands, pointing them directly at his heart.

Suddenly he too pulled out a wand from where it was hidden beneath his torn cloak and pointed it at us as well. Sadly though, he was too fast.

"_Expelliarmus!_" He said hoarsely, his voice sounding as though it was scarcely used. My wand was ripped from my grasp and flew in his direction.

He caught them with ease before casting them aside along with Ron's wand. I felt Harry grab my wrist and pull me close to where he was standing beside Ron and Hermione.

"I want to thank you," He croaked, limping a little closer to us, "for not involving a teacher in this. This shall be much easier this way. I knew you'd be coming for your friend Harry, Mia. It's what James would do for a friend as well as your dear mother." He sounded rather sad at the thought of my mother.

How did he know her? Had he gone to Hogwarts with her?

I felt a pang of anger tear through me, but it was not my own. I glanced to the side to look at Harry.

His entire body was shaking with anger at the man who stood before him. I could understand completely considering Black had sold Harry's parents out to Voldemort all those years ago.

Hermione stepped forward, placing herself between Black and us.

"If you want these two then you just try to get through me." She said rather menacingly. Then her wand suddenly flew through the air, successfully landing in her outstretched hand.

Wandless magic? She's so young! You can't even learn that at Hogwarts until your seventh year.

Black raised his eyebrow at the young witch before him, sizing her up likely.

"I must say, that was some very advanced magic. Sadly though it will do you no good." He sighed and raised his wand again. "_Expelliarmus!_"

Hermione was prepared though for she shouted, "_Protego!_" Her shield was not enough though for Black's spell drilled right through it, knocking her off her feet. Her wand clattered to the floor across the room. "_Accio Wand._" The wand flew over towards him.

He caught it and this time didn't let it out of his sight now that he was aware of Hermione's skill.

Ron stood up this time and took Hermione's place, although swaying slightly.

"Sit down." Black said as he motioned towards the creaky old bed. "If you put too much weight on it you're only going to damage it further. You too Mia, your side is bleeding quite a bit."

I didn't move from where I was standing though. I had no intentions of leaving Harry's side.

"Why do you care about two kids?" Harry snapped at the gaunt man. "What, has Azkaban made you soft, Black?"

Hermione glanced up at Harry in horror, unable to comprehend what she was seeing.

"Harry..." Hermione said weakly, knowing her protests would be lost to him.

"No, Hermione! He killed my parents!" Harry shouted. I helped Hermione up and kept a tight hold on her wrist. "I have every right to say whatever I want to him! Come on, we're unarmed. Finish the job you started twelve years ago!" Harry challenged, stepping forward.

Black merely shook his head and looked towards the rat which Ron still held in his hands.

"I don't have any intentions to kill you." He strode towards Ron and held out his calloused hand.

"Stay away from him!" Hermione shrieked and lunged but I still held my iron grip on her wrist. With a rough yank she was back at my side, fighting to escape my grasp.

Black glared at her and shook his head.

"Only one will be dying tonight." Black smirked. Ron leant against the wall. He had no escape.

"Then it'll be you!"

Harry then did something that I will never understand.

He lunged forward at a fully-grown, armed wizard and convicted murderer. Pulling his fist back he punched Black in the nose and blood instantly gushed from the wound, spraying both Harry and Black.

I watched in horror as Black tumbled to the ground, Harry on top of him still delivering blows. In retaliation Black clamped his hands firmly on Harry's throat and I rushed over, kicking him in the place where I _know _it hurts the most.

Black's eyes widened in pain and he instantly released Harry. Reaching out he seized his wand from the large pile and directed it at Black's throat. Hermione swooped down and picked up the large pile, handing me my own and Ron his.

"Are you going to kill me Harry?" He asked. There was no trace of fear in his voice though. Why, I couldn't understand. He had four wands pointed directly at him.

"You're why I have no parents!" Harry shouted angrily. "Why I was stuck at the Dursleys for all these years! Why I was absolutely clueless about being a wizard before my 11th birthday! It's all your fault! You completely ruined my life!"

"Yes, I admit that it is my fault." Black said guiltily, but hurried on. "Allow me to explain though! Please, you're going to regret not listening to me!"

Suddenly Crookshanks came out of nowhere, pouncing onto Black's chest. He hissed and arched his back, clawing madly at Harry.

_"Crookshanks get off him now!" _I demanded. The ginger cat turned his gaze towards me, his bright orange eyes boring into mine.

_"No. This man, you must listen to him!" _Crookshanks exclaimed, whipping his tail around.

I frowned at the cat. _"Why? He killed Harry's parents." _

_"He did not, but even if he did two wrongs to not make a right." _The cat said, being the voice of reason.

"Fine." I said and Harry looked towards me with an expectant expression.

"Well," He said, "why won't he move?"

I shook my head, glaring at the fat tabby.

"He told us that we need to listen to Black." I frowned and tugged Harry off Black.

Black quickly stood up and we all surrounded him in a circle.

"Thank you Crookshanks." Black bowed his head to the cat and turned back towards us. Suddenly Harry pulled his wand back out, pointing it directly at the escapee's heart.

For some reason though, he could not muster up the courage to perform the spell which danced on the tip of his tongue. Something inside of me claimed that I needed to listen to Crookshanks and that he was telling the truth. I merely pushed it aside though.

I heard footsteps pounding up the stairs and in front of the door. The door was thrown open to reveal the one and only Remus Lupin.

"_Expelliarmus!_" He shouted and all our wands whizzed over to him. Damn! The professor then turned to Black. "Where is he, Sirius?"

Black looked slightly confused but jerked his head in Ron's direction. Remus looked over to Ron for a split second before turning his attention over to Black

"So you and James... you switched without telling me? You thought it was me." Remus said sadly.

I stole a glanced at everybody else to see they were looking exactly like I was. Completely and utterly confused.

"Remus what are you..." My breath stuck in my throat when I saw what happened next. Remus and Black embraced as though they were brothers.

"No!" Hermione and I shouted at the same time. Anger coursed through me as I saw this. Traitor!

The two friends turned to us, both looking rather guilty.

"Look, you two, please listen - "

"We trusted you! We kept your secret all this time and you completely betrayed us!" Hermione yelled at him. He turned to me, his eyes pleading for me to listen.

"Mia just listen to me - "

I gave him a rueful smile and shook my head.

"No. I trusted you. I talked to you. I kept your secret and you pay me back like this." I let out a cold laugh. "All this time you were helping him. You were his friend. You're just a traitor." My voice was completely calm despite the anger bubbling and boiling inside of me.

Black gasped in horror and Remus backed away slightly.

"H-her eyes! They're glowing!" Black exclaimed and pointed at my eyes.

I blinked a little and cringed, pushing back the anger and returning my eyes to normal.

"What are you guys saying? What secret?" Harry demanded, turning all attention to him.

"Easy. Ever notice how he disappeared every month? How he always seemed ill during the _full moon_." I raised an eyebrow, leading him on. His eyes widened and Remus's face instantly darkened. "It was pretty easy once I noticed what the potion he was drinking was. Wolfsbane. The only known potion to help with lycanthropy. Remus Lupin is a werewolf." I finished.

Ron's eyes widened in horror and he cowered back, away from Remus.

"How long have you know?" He asked Hermione and me.

"Ever since that day when Snape brought in the Wolfsbane potion. I managed to memorize the characteristics of it and jot them down. Hermione searched it and we found it. I'm surprised we didn't manage to stumble on it sooner. But I had a theory when Snape assigned that stupid essay on werewolves." I frowned.

Remus ran a hand through his graying hair nervously, unsure about what to say next.

"Look, I really don't know where to start." Remus sighed and I glared at him.

"I may not have my wand but I can sure as hell hurt you if I really want." I threatened. "Start at the beginning."

Remus opened his mouth but Black cut in. "Wait, what does she mean?"

I rolled my eyes. Damn he's oblivious. The whole 'glowing golden eyes' should have told him.

"I'm the Aura Holder. It's why my eyes were glowing gold." I explained harshly, sending a testy glare. "Now start. I really don't have much patience at the moment."

With a small sigh Remus began.

"Well, you see - " He began, but Black cut in again.

"No! I waited twelve years to finish this," Black said, staring dangerously at Ron, "and I sure as hell am going to finish it. We can talk another time." He lunged at Ron, but Remus, anticipating this grabbed the back of his shirt.

"Sirius!" Remus shouted. "You can fucking wait a few minutes longer! Ron's had that rat for years. Harry needs to know the truth. What about Mia, huh? She needs to know why she has no mother."

Black continued to struggle, but realizing he was fighting a losing battle soon stopped. I looked at the two of them in disbelief.

"No. My father killed my mother, I watched." I whispered, shaking my head.

"You don't know this for sure. You were three, Mia, it would be impossible for you to remember something like this." Remus explained slowly as if I were an incompetent five year old.

Realization of it plowed over at me and I shot Black a murderous glare. I could already tell where this was going.

"You killed her! You fucking bastard!" I shouted tearfully. Harry grabbed my hand and attempted to comfort me but I brushed him off. I could feel my eyes slowly shifting from colour. "She never did anything to you! There was no reason to kill her but you did! Harry's parents weren't enough for you, huh? Needed real blood on your hands?" I shrieked.

I watch pain and grief pass over his features.

"It's not like that I swear." He croaked while Remus also tried to calm me down.

"Then how is it? You didn't mean to kill her? It was an accident?" I screamed at him.

Remus finally grabbed hold of my shoulders and forced me to look him dead in the eye.

"I swear to God Mia, if you continue like this you're going to make this house explode. Control your anger. Do you want to kill all your friends all because you just couldn't help yourself?" He demanded and my anger disappeared.

Slowly I held up my hand, taking note of the soft silver lining around them. Just because I couldn't hold in my anger I had nearly killed all my friends. My worst fear.

"Sorry." I mumbled, calming down.

Remus gave a curt nod and walked back over to Black.

"Your mother Mia, she was a great friend to me. It's hard to explain. You see, your father wanted your mother dead. He wanted to talk you to where Voldemort was hiding out. With your raw magical power he could become more than just a mere vapor. He would be a person again. Your father had your mother cornered, but I appeared to come and visit your mother. During this time Dumbledore had me posing as a Death Eater. Your father recognized me and asked me if I wanted to do the honors. At first I was completely against it, but your mother gave me the okay. She knew she had no hope of keeping you alive with her around so she told me that if the situation arose that I had full permission to kill her if it meant saving you." He finished.

Ever have those moments where all you want to do is break down? Where all you want to do is sit down with a tub of ice-cream and bawl your eyes out? Well this was definitely one of those times.

My mother had given me her life. I couldn't help but feel it was partly my fault she wasn't there. Had I never been born she would have never had to get killed.

_*Mia, this is in no way your fault.*_ Harry said firmly, squeezing my hand tightly.

I took in a deep breath and nodded.

"Right now I have no idea how to react." I admitted. Black nodded as though he was expecting for me to not accept it automatically.

"That's fine." Black replied and turned his attention to Harry. "Harry, I didn't personally kill your parents, but their deaths are as good as my fault. I was supposed to be their Secret Keeper, but last minute I convinced them to switch over to Peter Pettigrew. Nobody would expect it to be a scrawny little weakling like that." Black explained.

Harry had a rather pained expression on his face but he nodded, telling Black to continue on.

"Well when Peter learned this he automatically switched sides. He sold your parents out within the year. He was so tempted by it. By selling your parents out he was automatically on Voldemorts good side." Black said and Harry nodded.

It wasn't his fault at all.

The door suddenly banged open, causing everybody to spin around. Remus frowned and checked but saw that there wasn't anybody there.

"So this place really is haunted." Ron whimpered. "I thought it was just a legend some Hogwarts students created to get popular."

Remus rolled his eyes.

"It _is _a legend." He shrugged and closed the door. "When I was changing before Wolfsbane was invented I use to come here during my transformations. Dumbledore created the story so that villagers would stay away from here during the full moon. I guess there would be the best place to start." He sighed.

We all exchanged unsure glances.

"When I was a little kid I got bitten. My parents were desperate. They tried everything they could think of but there really was, and there still isn't, a cure to lycanthropy. People even said I would never get welcomed into a single school. Dumbledore proved them all wrong though." He smiled. "Dumbledore said that as long as we took certain steps to ensure mine and the other student's safety that there would be no worries and I would be allowed to attend."

To show that we were actually following along all of us gave small nods. Remus continued.

"When I would transform, I would bite myself because I had nobody else to bite. When you transform, there's a thirst for blood and I was the only thing around. Thankfully I met Sirius, James and Peter at Hogwarts. They were kind to me and even were after they learnt of my condition. They even became Animagus and joined me during my transformation. It was the most selfless thing anybody could ever do." He said and I raised an eyebrow.

"Wait, that's not possible." Hermione said. "When I was bored I decided to look up the registered Animagus in the last century and they weren't there."

Remus gave her a mischievous grin before replying.

"Yes, but the Ministry never knew there were three unregistered Animagus running around every full moon with a werewolf. It's how we each earned our nicknames for the Marauders Map." He sighed, reminiscing about his past likely.

Harry gasped.

"You were the Marauders?" Harry exclaimed. Remus and Sirius both swelled with pride and nodded.

"Yeah. I'm Moony, James was Prongs, Sirius was Padfoot and Peter was Wormtail." Remus explained.

"Still, becoming an Animagi is very dangerous and hard!" Hermione butt in and I smirked.

"Not that hard." I admitted and everybody stared at me.

Sirius and Remus both looked at each other before bursting out laughing.

"You're an Animagi?" Harry asked in disbelief, likely cause I never bothered to tell him. I nodded.

"Er, yeah. That's how I saw you and Ginny without you guys knowing. Ginny had caught me making the potion one time and so she knew." I sighed and then turned my attention to Remus and Sirius. "What's so funny?" I exclaimed. Wait, I just called Sirius by his first name... odd...

"It's just, your mother did the same thing! She became one in her third year and helped us in creating the potion." Sirius explained and I cracked a small smile.

I really do take after her a lot I guess.

"What if you bit somebody though?" Hermione inquired when the two adults managed to calm down.

Remus suddenly turned somber. "Not a day has gone by where I haven't thought about that. I was always afraid I would completely lose control and attack somebody." He sighed. "There were even a couple close calls but we always laughed them off. We were so young and arrogant. Thought we were completely invincible."

"Nobody in the school knew about this though?" Ron asked, finally speaking up. He had opened his mouth to say something a couple times but clamped it shut each time.

"Not a soul except those three. Well, and Lily Evans. Your mother Harry. She found out on her own after she started dating James. The staff knew of course and knows now too." He smiled. "Even when I applied Snape was the only one to ever actually fight to keep me away."

"Why wouldn't Snape want you coming here?" Harry asked as Remus and Sirius both chuckled at a private memory."

Remus thought for a moment. "Well, let's just say we never really got along during our school years. He was always jealous of James' Quidditch talent. He got curious of where we went each month so Sirius told him that if he took a large stick and poked the knot on the tree that it would freeze up. Luckily James caught him before any harm could come of him but he saw me transformed. Dumbledore forced him to never breath a word of it to anybody else."

Hermione gasped. "He could have been hurt!" She exclaimed and I rolled my eyes. Way to state the obvious.

"He shouldn't have been snooping." Sirius replied darkly.

"Anyway," Remus said loudly, glaring at Sirius, "he learned his lesson. He knows that he was wrong. Snape never truly got over it."

"So that's why he hates you." I stated and blinked a little. My eyes widened in horror though when I felt a presence I hoped I would never feel again.

"That's right." A voice said icily from behind us, whipping off an invisibility cloak, revealing two forms.

Snape stepped forward.

"How nice to see you again, daughter. I hoped I would get the pleasure of talking to you before you died." My father smirked as I turned around.

...*******...

A/N:

OMG

OMG

It's a major cliffy ;D

I know, so mean, so cruel. But so awesome. I really hope you guys liked this chapter. I had to go back to the book a few times to get this scene right.

Second chapter today as well. Didn't think I'd be writing again today and finishing a whole chapter to boot. I hope that I did this scene justice!

So close to being over! Only four, maybe five chapters left!

Wowza!

Thanks for reading!

Rose xx


	18. Chapter 18

_I do not own Harry Potter._

...*******...

Hermione let out a small yelp of surprise, jumping back and leaning against the wall.

My eyes slowly grew in size as I clasped onto Harry's arm. He didn't hesitate to step in front of me along with Remus.

"It seems that tonight is a very good night for me." Snape said, anger and revenge shining in his eyes. "I was about to give you your potion Lupin, but it seems that I am no longer required to, am I? You also left out a rather helpful and familiar map you know. And thank you Potter," He held up the invisibility cloak, "for leaving this."

Snape threw the cloak at Harry who caught it easily, a look of anger flicking across his features.

I eyed my Father warily, unsure of his intentions of coming here.

"You know, it's rude not to speak back to your elder's dear daughter." My Father smirked, taking another short step towards me. Harry's arm which he had placed around my shoulders protectively tightened.

"Please, Severus," Lupin pleaded, "let me explain - "

Snape cut him off though. "I warned Dumbledore that you were helping an old friend get into the caste. Of course, he defended you. He trusted you. In his mind, you were a tame wolf. Something tells me though that his opinion on you may change after word of this reaches his ears."

He had a tone to his voice. It was unnerving to say the least. He sounded just plain mad, like he could snap at any moment.

"Listen to him you ignorant dolt!" I exclaimed, finally regaining my backbone. "Honestly, just forget your differences and listen to him!"

"Miss Denery, you and your friends are in enough trouble as it is." The potions master hissed in my direction. "You're out of bounds, past curfew and in the company of a convicted murderer and werewolf." He finished his voice cold and rude.

"But Sir, they were just explaining to us - " Hermione said quietly.

"Miss Granger, for once in your life hold your God damned tongue!" Snape thundered, whipping around to face her.

I pulled her behind me and glared at him darkly. I could tell my eyes were already melting into the deep gold colour. Lupin this time however didn't even try to stop me.

"All of this just because of a stupid school grudge. _Pathetic._" I spat at him. His black eyes flashed with anger and suddenly I tumbled to the ground, cords and vines wrapping tightly around me.

Harry and Hermione both bent down, desperately tugging at the cords. The harder they tugged however the tighter the cords hold on me got.

_*Stop! The more you guys pull at it the tighter it's getting!* _I exclaimed and Harry hesitantly, backed off with Hermione following suit seconds after.

A second later Harry rounded on Snape just as he performed the same spell on Lupin. The werewolf crashed to the ground feet away from me. We were both thinking the exact same thing.

Severus Snape has gone completely mad.

"Vengeance is sweet." Snape whispered harshly, his breath hot on Sirius' face. "I wished I would be the one to catch you and get the pleasure of throwing you back into Azkaban. And here I am. The dementors will be so grateful. I even believe they've been saving you a kiss."

All during this, my Father just stood in a corner listening to this with an evil grin on his face. I didn't even know why he was here.

Snape turned to the door but Harry blocked him.

"Get out of the way Potter." Snape snarled venomously at Harry.

"Not until I hear the story." Harry retorted, raising his wand.

"Like Father, like son, Potter. I save you from this despicable man," Snape growled, poking Sirius in the ribs with his wand, "and you repay me like this. Most others would be thanking me to no end but no, of course all you do is argue with me. Get out of the way, or so help me Potter, I. Will. Make. You."

Harry didn't budge. Snape raised his wand, but I didn't give him the chance.

All at once Harry, Ron, Hermione and I shouted, "_Expelliarmus!_" and our potion master fell to the ground. He twitched slightly but other than that didn't move.

"We attacked a teacher, we attacked a teacher..." Hermione muttered in horror. "We are so dead. Expelled likely." She moaned. I rolled my eyes.

God this girl needed to get her priorities right. Harry turned to all of us and frowned.

"You guys really shouldn't have done that." He said. "I could handle him myself."

I rolled my eyes and smirked. My Father stepped out from his corner and clapped slowly.

"How cute. A show of friendship." He sneered and I growled, pulling out my wand.

"I swear if you don't shut your mouth - " I stopped suddenly as my Father suddenly fell to his knees, gripping his head with slight moans of pain.

He began convulsing on the floor before suddenly he straightened up. Something was different though. Something in him changed drastically. He had a friendly twinkle in his eyes that I'd never before seen. It was as if he was a completely new person.

"Mia?" He asked hesitantly in a kind and tender voice.

"D-Dad?" I replied and he sighed in relief, opening his arms to me. I didn't hesitate to jump into his arms and hug him tightly. There was something different about him. He never, _ever _lets me call him Dad. Just Sir.

He wrapped his arms around me and kissed the top of my head.

"My God. I never thought I'd get control again." He murmured and I looked up at him. "I am so sorry about _everything _I've _ever_ done to hurt you."

"What do you mean get control?" I whispered. I could see Harry, Hermione, Ron and Lupin gaping openly at me.

He frowned at me. "All these years I've been under the Imperius Curse. I have no clue who put me under, but I don't think I'm going to be free for long. I probably only have a few minutes." He replied. His voice was still soft and kind.

"I believe you." I said honestly and he smiled, pulling me closer to him. I really did look nothing like him. He had dark brown hair and matching hazel eyes white I had blond hair and stormy grey eyes.

"Look, I need you to listen to me alright. I need to tell you some things before I'm forced back under if it happens. Okay?" He said, his face serious and determined. I nodded and he continued on. "You have a brother. He has the same surname as you. His name's Marcus. Marcus Denery. Alright? When you were born your mother sent him to America to be safer. He's only two years older than you though. Unlike you he takes after me. Same eyes, hair, nose and everything you can think of. I want you to try and find him. He will recognize you, trust me. You look _exactly _like your mother." He rushed.

Too soon though he began losing control again. He had a panicked look in his eyes and I could tell he had more to say.

"I want you to stun me the second I lose it, alright? And if anything ever happens I want you to kill me. No hesitation. Please, Mia. I don't want to find out that I'm the cause of your death." He pleaded with me. I nodded and pulled him in for one last hug before backing away. He began to convulse on the ground again and I pushed tears away.

"Bye Daddy..." I murmured and he slowly stopped moving on the ground. He stood up again and that sick grin returned to his face.

"Too bad. Your _Daddy _is just so easy to control." He mocked. I blinked back all my tears and raised my wand.

"_Stupefy!_" I shouted and the man fell to the ground completely unconscious. Harry placed a calm hand on my arm.

I glanced over at him and shook my head, answering the question he was silently asking.

He wanted to know if I was alright, and honestly, I wasn't. I was far from being alright. I had just discovered that my Dad wasn't who he seemed to be. That he actually loved me, but was under a curse that prevented him from being himself.

That I even had a 15 or 16 year old brother named Marcus.

That if my Dad ever threatened my life that I was to kill him.

How could a person ever be remotely close to being alright after that? I could have had a family. All because this stupid 'gift' got dumped on me. If I was never given it I would have a family. A Mum, a Dad, and even a brother!

Slowly we walked over to Remus, tearing of his binds and helping him to stand up. Automatically he turned to Ron.

"Ron, I can give all of you proof just as soon as I get that rat." Remus said, motioning to the rat which clung desperately to Ron's shoulder.

"What does Scabbers have to do with anything?" Ron asked, his voice higher than usual.

Black suddenly entered the conversation. "Everything, trust me. That is no normal rat. He's an Animagi, a very specific one. Peter Pettigrew." He said and I nodded.

I was right! I was so completely right! In your face Ron!

"You're mad!" Ron protested. "He's been in our family for ages!"

"Ron, how old is Scabbers?" Remus asked and Ron blinked a little, taken aback by the question. "You claim he's really old, but most rats only live for five years at the most."

"We took good care of him!" Ron defended as Scabbers clawed madly at Ron's hands.

"He's not looking too good at the moment. I'm guessing he's been acting like this ever since Sirius escaped, am I correct?" Remus said and I smirked.

"I knew it!" I cheered and everybody looked at me. "Well, I didn't know he was Peter, but I did know he wasn't a normal rat. I've known that ever since I met him."

Ron shook his head and said, "He's been like this because of that stupid cat! That cat tried to kill him!"

Crookshanks hissed loudly from where he was perched on a dusty old dresser.

"Crookshanks is not a stupid cat!" I defended. "Animals are smarter than most humans. He knew that Sirius was not as he seemed and that Scabbers isn't actually a rat! He isn't Ron. You so should have realized that by now." I frowned. Scabbers was already biting at Ron frantically in an attempt to wriggle out of said boys grip.

"Mia's right." Sirius smirked as the cat jumped off the dresser and onto Sirius's lap. "This cat's been helping me get into the castle. When I couldn't get in Crookshanks brought me all the passwords, and, at first, tried to bring me Peter."

"His name is Scabbers!" Ron protested angrily and I frowned.

"You idiot! Just listen, these guys are right!" I exclaimed and walked over to flick him on the back of the head.

Remus's face softened as he looked at Ron.

"No, Ron," Remus said gently, "his name's Peter. See his toe that's missing? The largest thing that was ever found of Peter was his finger. He likely cut it off right before he transformed back into a rat."

"Everybody saw Pettigrew get killed!" Ron exclaimed, then pointed wildly to Sirius. "He killed him!"

"They only saw what Peter wanted them to see!" Sirius nearly shouted in exasperation. His patience with Ron was running thin. "When I cornered him, he shouted for the entire street to hear that I had killed my friends and then he blew the street up, changing into a rat and going down the drainage system."

"But Professor," Hermione began, finally speaking up, "how do you know which one Peter actually is? There are hundreds of rats in the sewers."

Sirius answered for him though, thinking for a second before speaking.

"It was the newspaper. The story that reported the Weasley family going to Egypt." Sirius said. "I saw Peter on Ron's shoulder and I recognized him. I mean, we'd seen him transform so many times..." He trailed off.

All the while I could hear Scabbers frantically shouting, _"They're going to kill me! He's going to kill me! I know it! I just know it! Help me! Somebody, help me!" _

"He's scared." I murmured and everybody looked over to me. "Scabbers, I mean," I elaborated, "he keeps repeating 'he's going to kill me'. I think he means you Sirius."

Sirius wore a dark scowl, glancing over at Scabbers.

"Yes, yes I am Peter. You sure as hell deserve it." Sirius muttered and Scabber's frantic cries increased.

Remus blatantly ignored him though.

"Ron, please give us the Scabbers." He said. Ron gave him an uneasy glance so he added, "I promise I won't let Sirius hurt him."

"W-what are you going to do?" Ron questioned him cautiously.

"We're just going to force him into his human form. If he's a real rat nothing will happen to him."

Ron glanced down at the squirming rat in his hands before looking back up at the two wizards before him. Reluctantly he handed the rat over. Scabbers began flailing his paws around and his screams increased. If that was even possible.

I winced and covered my ears in an attempt to drown out the frantic pleas for help.

Remus held the rat out at arm's length with one hand and held his wand at the other. Both men pointed their wands at the rat and a blinding light engulfed the room. When it passed Remus dropped the rat to the floor and I noticed something.

The _rat _was no longer a rat. He was quickly shifting into what seemed to be a human. He was a short, wide man and well, he retained many rat-like qualities. Whiskers, moles, dirty and sharp nails. His nose even twitched every minute or two.

"R-Remus! S-Sirius!" He cried in a cheery tone. It was completely fake though. While he seemed cheery his eyes constantly wandered away from the two men and to the boarded up windows and the door. "My friends!"

Sirius eyed him up with disgust, not even trying to hide it. Remus on the other hand at least made an effort but it still shone greatly in his hazel eyes.

Peter smiled and ran up to his 'friends'.

Without even thinking twice Sirius kicked him in the shins. Peter's smile faded and he turned to us, desperation written all over his face.

"Ron, my owner!" He exclaimed and ran over to Ron. The disgust that Sirius held was also evident on Ron's face.

"You watched me change..." He murmured and I raised an eyebrow. Oh... uh.. I have no comment about that.

Peter seemed slightly discouraged but quickly turned to Hermione.

"Hermione! Oh, you clever, clever witch! I'm surprised you didn't figure it out!" He said and ran over to her, clutching the hem of her torn jeans. She too merely kicked him away.

Next, of course, just happened to be me. I backed away slowly as he shuffled over to me.

"You! Mia, you listened to me! You cared for me!" He exclaimed and bowed his greasy head in what was supposed to be respect. "I didn't do it! Please, help me!"

I backed away slightly but shook my head.

"Bastard! Why would I ever help you!" I shouted and he stumbled back slightly before turning to Harry.

This was his last shot, and he really didn't have any chance at this.

"Oh, Harry! You look so much like James!" He exclaimed, then desperately gazed at Harry. "You know that James wouldn't want me to be killed! He would forgive me!" He pleaded.

"Don't you _dare _talk to Harry like that! It's your fault James' isn't here!" Sirius roared and pointed his wand at the fat little man before me. Harry tugged me behind him.

"Peter," Remus said, shooting Sirius a rather annoyed look, "we were just talking about the night Lily and James died."

All the colour that remained in Peter's face instantly drained.

"Remus! You don't actually believe him do you?" Peter said, his eyes wide in terror. "I didn't kill them! They were my dearest friends!"

"Don't give us that!" Sirius shouted, his eyes flashing with anger and vengeance for his best friend. "You sold them out to Voldemort. That's as good as saying the killing curse yourself!"

I grit my teeth. I didn't think I could take another second of this shouting.

"Enough!" I screamed. The room was instantly silenced. I drew in a deep breath before speaking again. "From what I can gather from everything that I've heard so far is that you Marauders were very close. They say that Black became a traitor because my mum left him for a Muggle man and it drove him into insanity. Why would Pettigrew want to sell his old school friends to Voldemort?"

Peter cried out in triumph. "Exactly! Thank you Mia!" But instantly he was silenced by a lethal look from Remus.

"I had a lot of time to think about this while I was locked up." Black stated darkly. "Peter thought this out. When I refused being the Secret Keeper and placed it on Peter's shoulders he had the perfect opportunity. He was a double agent. The second he figured out he how badly Voldemort wanted the Potters the temptation of it was just too much. Peter always had somebody bigger to protect him. During Hogwarts it was the Marauders. When he got out of school though, he no longer had us to protect him, so he searched elsewhere. He decided we just weren't enough. He moved on. Decided that Voldemort was more for him so he gave the Potters over."

"I have two questions." I said before anything else. Peter continued to mumble things under his breath however, his gaze darting back and forth between me and the door.

"Go ahead." Sirius replied.

"Well, first off, how did you even manage to escape?" I asked.

"Well, to be honest I have no clue. I think it was the fact that I knew I was innocent and everything really. I knew that it wasn't my fault and even though it wasn't a happy thought it kept me going. I was sane. One day though, Fudge came to visit. He brought the paper and I saw Peter sitting on Ron's shoulder. I knew I had to get out. Whenever it got too much for me I would change into a dog, and I used this as an advantage. I stopped eating and became skin and bones. Eventually I could fit through the bars and I just ran." He sighed.

Wow. That's actually pretty smart.

"Okay, and my second question. If Peter really is out to kill Harry and everything, why didn't he just attack him while he was in the room alone with them at night." I raised my eyebrow. This was important for me. It really would be the main decider here on whether or not I buy this. "I mean, he had so many opportunities to kill him and... well... he didn't."

Sirius smirked and shook his head.

"That's actually rather easy." He chuckled. "You remember what I said about Peter wanting somebody to protect him? Well, even if he killed Harry, there's no point. There's no Voldemort to come out and protect him if he did manage to kill Harry so for him it was useless. No use in taking a risk unless there was some sort of reward in it for him."

I nodded and frowned at Peter. I believed them. I really did. This little piece of shit was so much of a coward that he sold out innocent people to save his sorry ass.

"That is by far the most cowardice thing I have ever heard in my entire life." I spat at Peter, shooting him a lethal look.

He cowered beneath my gaze and I rolled my eyes. Wimp.

We all looked at him accusingly and he burst into tears. And I mean full on, lying on the ground _begging for his life _tears. He knew he had no chance. For some reason though, I felt no reason for him to die. He deserves to get the dementors kiss, but not the death penalty. If he was killed he'd never learn his lesson.

Remus and Sirius both pulled their wands on him, aiming them directly at the large man's heart.

Peter turned to me and grabbed hold of my hair, pulling me down to his level.

"If I go she comes with me!" He cried and I cried out as he yanked on my hair. I blindly punched out with my fist in an attempt to make him release my hair. I don't know where I hit but it was most definitely a soft spot. He slowly crumpled to the ground and I scrambled away from him.

This time however, Harry stepped forward.

"Don't kill him!" He shouted and I raised an eyebrow.

"Harry, you don't understand." Remus said patiently, his eyes trained on Peter. "This man is the reason your parents are dead."

"I know!" Harry insisted. "But my Father wouldn't want you all to become murderers just because of him!"

Peter sat up, his eyes wide in surprise.

"Oh, bless you! Bless you!" He cried and grasped onto Harry's pants.

"Geroffme!" Harry shouted and kicked him in the ribs. "No, we take him up to the castle. The dementors can do what they want with him then."

Peter's face suddenly dropped and he desperately scampered about before I caught hold of his shirt and conjured out chains. I tied his one hand with the chains and Remus came over, taking the other side and tightly tying it around his wrist.

Sirius levitated Snape while I levitated my Father - or his body at least - and we began walking out of the Shrieking Shack.

We talked while we walked out.

"Mia, I have something for you. I think it may be very useful for you." Sirius said as we walked outside and into the cool, bitter night. We were bathed in a soft moonlight and I smiled.

"Really?" I asked. "What?" He smiled softly and pulled something off his neck.

"Like I said, I think this may be useful for you." He repeated and I looked down at what he now held in his hands.

It was a necklace. A thin gold chain and on it hung a decently sized tear-drop shaped jewel. A sapphire to be exact.

I gaped at the necklace and he handed it to me.

"This- it can't be..." I laughed slightly. I knew it was though.

The Light Sapphire. The lost sapphire from the six elementals.

"It is. Well, I'm pretty sure at least." He said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yeah. How did you manage to get a hold of this?" I insisted and he chuckled.

"It's been handed down in my family for centuries. They had their hearts set on getting an Aura Holder in the family one of these days. They stole it way back when and just kept handing it around in hopes that a Black would become one." He shrugged.

Suddenly I felt a warm tingling sensation washing over me. It was almost like being bathed in light and fire. Nice.

The necklace levitated in the air and softly set itself around my neck and I could feel something being done to my body. I shrugged off my thin jacked and gasped at the tattoos which now laced around my chest area.

They were floral patterns that weaved and laced all around my body. The tattoos were a soft lavender colour which I found I liked a lot.

"Whoa..." Harry murmured, raising his hand and tracing something on my forehead.

"What?" I frowned, furrowing my eyebrows together slightly.

"A tattoo... it's the exact same shape as your necklace only smaller." He smirked and I groaned. Great. Just, great. Like I need another thing that makes me recognizable.

I opened my mouth to fire off a retort but was interrupted by a hair-raising scream courtesy of Hermione. I whipped around and saw exactly what she was screaming about. It hit me.

Remus hadn't taken his potion tonight. He wasn't safe.

And now, he was turning into a werewolf.

Just what I need. Thank you whoever may be controlling my life. You just sentenced me to death.

...*******...

A/N:

ANOTHER CLIFFY! Sorry guys, but they just rock!

I hope you guys liked this chapter too! I LOVED writing it. So much fun~

The little twist, yeah, the one with her dad, and... BROTHER!

Sorry if you hate it. Couldn't help it. And i plan to bring him into the mix pretty dam soon.

and let's just say... he enjoys causing drama.

Thanks for reading!

Rose xx


	19. Chapter 19

_I do not own Harry Potter._

...*******...

I spun around, horrified at the sight before me. Remus was staring at the moon, his hazel eyes glazed over. His transformation was beginning and I could see several things changing about him.

His nose elongated, turning into a long muzzle. His pants were torn to shreds as his legs grew longer and thinner. The normal soft hazel colour his eyes held slowly melted into a deep black that were vacant on any emotion whatsoever.

The soft moonlight was like a poison for him.

I could see Peter grinning. He gave a small wave before transforming into a small rat and scampering away like the coward he is.

Loud moans of pain escaped Remus' lips as his skin dulled into a deep gray colour. I took a step forward, but stepped back again.

Would my powers be weakened because of the sapphire? It seals my Aura Holder powers, I know that, but I don't know if it also seals my other powers. It might just weaken them. Either way though, I really don't feel comfortable taking the chance.

Ignoring what my gut was telling me I took a bold step forward as Ron scrambled away from Remus. Even if he was a werewolf, deep down, he was still Remus. I knew it.

"Remus, listen to me." I said cautiously and placed my hands in front of me. "I know your still in there."

The werewolf before me turned his head and I almost saw a flicker of recognition in his eyes but I knew better.

"Please! You must recognize me!" I exclaimed and inched closer to him, a small twig snapping in half beneath my foot.

"Mia, he won't recognize you." Sirius insisted urgently but I brushed him off. In my heart I knew that was true but my mind just refused to believe it.

"I know you in there." I repeated but didn't dare get any closer.

Suddenly he lashed out, his sharp nails digging deep into my stomach.

Any pain I felt from the other gash was long forgotten. My stomach exploded in a shower pain as blood poured from the open wound. I gasped in shock and fell to the ground, my shirt beginning to slowly turn a deep crimson colour.

Shit!

I completely ignored it though and stood up again but Sirius beat me to it.

He jumped up and shifted into his Animagi form in mid-air, landing gracefully before Remus. Slowly Harry grabbed hold of my shirt, pulling me back towards him, Ron and Hermione. The pain in my stomach was quickly getting harder to ignore as the blood flowing from it only increased. I _knew _I needed desperate medical attention and soon.

Sirius was attempting to keep Remus under control by swiping constantly at him but it wasn't working. At least, it wouldn't work forever.

_*Harry, Sirius can't take much more of this!* _I exclaimed and he grabbed my hand reassuringly.

_*I know. One of us _needs _to help him or he won't be making it out alive.* _He replied grimly and I gave a small nod.

I turned around, looking Hermione dead in the eye.

"Hermione, you may not understand this now, but it will make sense later." I said and as I expected she shot me a confused look. "Let me be the only one."

She nodded, although looking still confused, and turned back to Ron. The two of them both looked absolutely petrified. Not that I could call that abnormal really.

Harry and I both stepped forward at the same time, our wands raised. Harry shot me a disapproving glance but didn't protest. I would just ignore him if he did anyways.

As a last resort Sirius flew at Remus who easily swatted him away. Sirius let out a small whimper of pain as he was thrown into a thick tree trunk and collapsed to the ground in a heap.

Remus turned to us, but we were ready. I opened my mouth to cast a spell but stopped. In the distance I heard a distinct call of a female wolf, only I could tell it wasn't an actual wolf.

I swear if Hermione is behind this she's going to get herself killed.

He looked for a second, but I could tell he didn't even consider going after it. Harry quickly shoved me behind him protectively and I glanced up at him. His face was stony and expressionless. Over the past school year I've learnt he always does this when he's stressed or panicking. He does it so people don't worry about him.

Remus took one last look before grudgingly sprinting off into the black, never ending forest. Sirius slowly picked himself up from the ground and transformed back into his human form.

I could see his injuries from here, and, well, he was no better off than I was.

His right arm and leg had a deep slash that likely stretched all down his body, there was a deep gash that was still bleeding profusely on his forehead and I was pretty sure his leg was broken or at least fractured in some way.

He stumbled down the hill with Harry and I closely following him, making our way down the steep grass hill.

We ended up on the rocky shore of the lake. Sirius was lying down on the ground, unmoving. Panic rose up in my throat as I rushed forward to him, checking his pulse and shaking him violently.

Harry and I both exchanged worried glances and Harry took over, once again shaking his shoulders roughly in hopes of jolting him awake.

For some reason though he wouldn't move. His chest was just barely rising and judging by the paleness of his cheeks this all had something to do with blood loss.

"Harry, oh God, look at all the blood he's lost." I murmured and Harry glanced down at his wounds.

He shook his head before muttering a quiet, "I know"

My breath caught in my throat as a large lump grew. I didn't know what to do. There was a man, lying right in front of my dying and I couldn't do shit. Nothing.

"We have to try something!" I exclaimed urgently and he nodded. I tugged off my sweater and tied it tightly around his arm where the gash lay. Harry did the same with his sweater only on his leg.

Frantically searching for more clothing and finally ended up ripping of a part of my shirt and tying it securely around his head. The bleeding didn't stop, but it wasn't bleeding as quickly either. It just slowed slightly but this was only temporary.

"We need to get him back to the castle... now." I muttered and went to pick him up, but I felt the air suddenly go cold.

No. No. Why now? Now of all times. I stiffened and reached down into my pocket for my wand, Harry mirroring my movements.

All at once at least three dozen dementors drifted through the air towards us and swarmed.

One at a time they swooped down, sucking out our happiness and joy piece by piece. I fought them off, attempting my patronus but I knew it was no use.

I couldn't bring forward a happy memory to use. I had tons but for some reason I just couldn't beckon them to me. Something was blocking them. Without my patronus, I had no fighting chance.

Beside me though Harry and Sirius were both doing worse than me. Neither could take much more.

Harry was on his knees with tears streaking down his face. I glanced down and saw something small and round hovering just above Sirius' mouth, a little ball of light.

Oh God. It was his soul...

They'd sucked his soul right out of him.

Shakily I pushed it back down into him, but it was no use. Every time I did it just bobbed back up into the air.

Over and over I shoved it back down his throat but each time it just floated back up. If I was panicking before, I don't know what I could call this.

Harry too was shaking as he placed his hand atop mine, forcefully shoving the tiny wisp of light back into the grown wizard's mouth and clamping his jaw shut. He looked as though he was choking for a second but thankfully didn't spit it back up.

The dementors were relentless though. They began coming at us faster and more aggressively. Before they were merely toying with us, now it was game on.

Any spark of hope soon disappeared from me as my vision swam before me and I nearly collapsed.

Then, as if a switch was turned on inside of me, I felt it happening.

Warmth spread throughout my body, coursing through my veins and out my fingertips. All my tattoos began glowing at the same time, illuminating the area around me. My eyes widened and I knew exactly what was happening.

I was going into my Aura State. Somehow I had broken through the seal and tapped into my power, and it felt incredible. Sadly the feeling didn't last long for me as the moment I entered the Aura State, I lost consciousness.

...*******...

_"Im i dashur, ju lutem zgjuar. (My dear, please awaken.)" _A soft voice sang, awakening me from my peaceful slumber. Hesitantly I opened my eyes, gazing around at my surroundings with wonder filled eyes.

Wait, whoa, that didn't sound like English.

"Where am I?" I murmured, picking myself up off the lush green grass and glancing around the bright meadow. It was almost like my garden.

The flowers all grew in different colours. Baby blue, pastel pink, lavender and white. I couldn't help as a feeling of serenity washed over me.

I looked up at the woman who spoke to me. My eyes widened in shock as I took in what I was seeing.

The woman looked exactly like me only six or seven years older. She laughed lightly, something that sounded like small little bells chiming in the wind.

_"Mae'n braf o'r diwedd gwrdd â chi. Fy enw i yw Malide. Mae hyn yn yr Ardd Aura. Mae'n noddfa ar gyfer Deiliaid Aura. (It is nice to finally meet you. My name is Malide - pronounced ma-LI-day - This is the Aura Garden. It is a sanctuary for Aura Holders.)" _The woman said, and I nodded.

"I have a few questions for you." I admitted and she smiled before nodding encouragingly. "Okay, first one. Who exactly are you Malide?"

She chuckled softly, walking slowly towards me. Like I said, she looked like an older version of me.

Her blond hair was much longer though, cascading well past her bottom and ending near her mid-thigh area. She had the identical tattoos. The floral pattern that weaved across my chest and down both my arms and the jewel on my forehead. Even her smile was just like mine.

Right now though, she was wearing a long Greek-style white dress which flowed down to her ankles and a thin gold bangle on her upper-arm area. She seemed to glow honestly.

_"Nid yw hynny'n rhywbeth rwy'n teimlo y gallaf egluro i chi ar hyn o bryd. Gallaf ddweud er fy mod yn Deiliad Aura. (That is not something I feel I can explain to you at this moment. I can say though that I was an Aura Holder.)" _She explained and I raised an eyebrow.

"Was?" I inquired and she nodded.

_"Ydy. Roeddwn i'n byw maith yn ôl, ymhell cyn eich amser eich hun. (Yes. I lived long ago, long before your own time.)" _She explained vaguely, gazing off at something in the distance.

"Oh. I see." I said, unable to find anything else to say. "My next question for you then is why do I look so much like you?"

She sighed sadly and I got the feeling I wouldn't be getting a proper answer from her.

_"Unwaith eto y cwestiwn hwn yn un yr wyf yn gallu ateb i chi. Eto byddwch yn cael gwybod mewn da bryd. (Again this question is one that I am unable to answer you. You will find out in due time.)" _She replied and I nodded with a slight frown.

What did she mean 'due time'?

Her and Dumbledore are both cryptic when they answer questions.

"Alright, this is my final question." I sighed and prayed I would get a proper answer. "Why did Mother Nature choose me? I don't get it at all to be honest."

She smiled softly at me and I couldn't help but smile back.

_"Mae hi'n gweld rhywbeth yn ydych, rhywbeth nad oedd yn gweld gydag unrhyw un arall. Dewrder, teyrngarwch, gyrru, caredigrwydd a chalon da. Mae'r rhain yn yr holl bethau Fam Natur ei hun drysorau a'r union bethau mae hi'n edrych ar ei gyfer yn Ddeiliaid Aura posibl. (She saw something in you, something she didn't see with anybody else. Courage, loyalty, drive, kindness and a good heart. These are all the things Mother Nature herself treasures and the exact things she looks for in possible Aura Holders.)" _She said and I couldn't hold a joyful grin from my face.

"Thank you." I replied and she walked over towards a glistening pond, her soft white dress trailing behind her.

I followed and glanced down into the pond, watching the two fish swimming around each other.

_"Mae'r pysgod," _She said, _"cynrychioli yr haul a'r lleuad. Mae pob un yn rhoi i ni gryfder, ond mae pob un mewn ffordd wahanol. Mae'r haul yn tywynnu arnom ni, gan roi gobaith a golau. Roedd y lleuad twinkles i fyny yn yr awyr gan roi i ni dawel a thangnefedd. (These fish, represent the sun and the moon. Each one gives us strength, but each one in a different way. The sun shines on us, giving us hope and light. The moon twinkles up in the sky giving us calm and serenity.)" _

Slowly I watch the fish circling each other.

There was a silvery coloured one had glistening scales which reflected in the bright sunlight. The fiery orange one beside it also had shining scales but this one seemed to be glowing almost.

"Do they really represent the sun and moon?" I asked curiously and she nodded. "How so? I mean, two fish can't really control them."

With a small smile she shook her head at my doubt. _"Byddech yn synnu plentyn. Os yw un o'r pysgod hyn eu lladd erioed, byddai eu hysbryd hefyd yn cael eu lladd. (You'd be surprised child. If one of these fish were ever killed, their spirit would too be killed.)"_

Deep. Majorly deep stuff right there.

Pretty much if the orange fish were killed the sun would be extinguished. I guess it is possible considering this is a place created personally by Mother Nature.

"Whoa..." I breathed and she chuckled.

_"Nawr rwy'n awgrymu i chi fod yn eu cael yn ôl. Rhaid i bob eich ffrindiau yn poeni. (Now I suggest you be getting back. All your friends must be worried.)" _Malide suggested and I gave a small nod.

If Harry's awake or even alive then yes, he probably does want to see me. I don't want to think that Harry may be dead. The whole idea of it is just way too much for me to handle.

Dementors don't kill people, right?

"You're probably right." I sighed and I felt her grasp my hand. She placed it lightly to her forehead, right where the tattoo resides and I felt as though I were being apparated.

...*******...

I groaned slightly, opening my eyes. This time though I was in the hospital wing, tightly bundled up in a mass of blankets.

Tilting my head to the side I saw Harry lying down beside my bed fast asleep. His head was resting lightly on my leg and I couldn't help but smile.

He can be so sweet.

I shifted my leg slightly and he jolted awake, looking around frantically. His brilliant green eyes met mine and a wide grin broke out across his face.

"Mia! Your finally awake!" He exclaimed, cautiously gathering me up in a hug. I nodded and placed my arms around his chest, allowing my head to rest on his shoulder.

"Yeah." I murmured and he looked at me.

"It's so odd seeing you with those tattoos." He smirked and I rolled my eyes, lifting up the sleeve of my hospital gown to inspect the tattoos on my arm.

Personally I think they're pretty cool.

He raised his hand, lightly tracing the jewel-shaped tattoo on my forehead.

"This coming from the guy with a lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead." I scoffed and he smirked lightly.

"It's cool!" He defended and I snorted with laughter. That's exactly what I thought about my tattoos. Even though I've only had them for a few hours.

Wait...

"How long have I been out?" I asked and his grin dropped. He avoided my gaze and stared down at our hands.

"Five days." He sighed and I gasped. What? I was only with Malide for an hour at the most!

"Are you kidding? That long?" I exclaimed and he nodded solemnly. "What happened after the dementors came?"

He sighed before launching into the exciting tale.

...*******...

- From Hermione's POV with Harry after the time-turner and everythin -

I exhaled deeply as Harry and I approached the lake. We had just barely managed to escape Lupin.

With wide eyes I watched the scene before me playing out. Sirius getting his soul sucked out, Harry now his knees with Mia attempting to get it back into him.

Now though, I was watching something rather odd. Mia was going into her Aura State, except, it was different.

Her hair steadily grew so it reached her mid-thigh area. Her tattoos grew more vibrant and visible. Her torn and tattered jeans and shirt shifted into a long Greek-styled gown that reached her ankles and she now had a gold bangle adorning her arm.

She probably wasn't even aware that any of this was happening.

She rose up into the air and began repelling the dementors but there were just too many. I turned to Harry desperately as he watched too, awaiting the part where his father shows up.

He's not going to come though.

"Harry, you have to do something! She can't hold them all off forever!" I exclaimed and he turned to me, biting his lip anxiously.

"But my Dad - "

"Your Dad's not coming." I said softly and he shook his head, unable to believe what I was telling him. It was true! His Dad was dead, no matter what. When you're dead you can't perform spells. End of story.

"This is the part!" He smiled but I shook my head.

"He's not coming!" I insisted and gave him a slight shove. I could see Mia weakening. That glow she possessed earlier was beginning to fade. Her magical energy was deteriorating.

He noticed too for he ran up to a gap and whipped out his wand.

"_Expecto Patronum!_" He shouted. A large silver stag shot out of his wand and landed on the frozen lake. Mia turned and smiled at Harry.

She beckoned towards the stag and it flew forward, helping her with warding off the dementors. They began giving up as they realized they had no chance at winning this.

I smiled at Harry as he ran back over grinning from ear to ear.

"Told you." I pointed out and he chuckled, the grin not faltering.

"Whatever. We have work to do."

...*******...

- Mia again -

I stared at him, considering what I just heard. From the sounds of it, I transformed into what Malide. Or at least the way she looked. That still made zero sense to me!

Why did we look so much alike?

That question was still nagging at my brain. Malide hadn't been much help really. I sighed and turned back to Harry.

"So, after that, I just collapsed?" I asked and he gave a nod. "I must have been really tired out."

"You were. Everybody was so worried." He murmured and I squeezed his hand.

I feel bad about worrying everybody.

"You know, if I sleep for that long every single time I go into my Aura State, I don't think I want to." I frowned and he shook his head.

"It'll get better. Probably." He said uncertainty and I rolled my eyes. Probably really wasn't all that reassuring. I wanted a solid answer.

I heard footsteps approaching my bed and I glanced up, looking into the soft blue eyes of Dumbledore.

"Ah, Mia. Good to see your awake." He smiled. "Could I please speak to you?"

I looked over to Harry who nodded encouragingly.

"Sure." I answered with a small shrug. Harry walked out of the room, and Dumbledore took his place.

"I think I may have some questions to answer." He sighed.

I raised an eyebrow. I had planned to go to Dumbledore. Guess now he came to me.

...*******...

A/N:

Okay, so I may have lied. I'm probably going to end up with... meh... 20 chapters.

I only have one more planned but if it gets too long I will stretch it out to make another one.

Right now I have a bit of a cold, so this chapter is slightly rushed. I hope you still like!

Thanks for reading!

Rose xx


	20. Chapter 20

...*******...

Recap:

_"Ah, Mia. Good to see your awake." He smiled. "Could I please speak to you?" _

_I looked over to Harry who nodded encouragingly. _

_"Sure." I answered with a small shrug. Harry walked out of the room, and Dumbledore took his place._

_"I think I may have some questions to answer." He sighed. _

_I raised an eyebrow. I had planned to go to Dumbledore. Guess now he came to me._

...*******...

"So your here to answer some things?" I asked cautiously, the memory of how well Dumbledore 'answered' all my other questions fresh in my mind. "And I mean really answer them."

He chuckled lightly and I could see that familiar childish joy evident in his light blue eyes. Pulling a chair next to my bed he sat down, gazing outside with a look of longing at the beautiful blue sky and bright fiery sun. Who wouldn't want to be outside?

"Yes. Although I will warn you I cannot answer every question you may ask of me. Keep that in mind." He smiled and I groaned, flopping back down against my soft pillow.

Every time there's always a catch. It's impossible to get a straight answer out of this man!

I frowned and said, "Fine, as long as I get some answers."

Lifting my shirt up I tugged on the necklace Sirius gave to me, showing it to Dumbledore. Amazingly, for the first time ever, Dumbledore seemed genuinely surprised.

"Where did you come across that?" He asked curiously and I sighed. I had to tell him Sirius gave it to me.

"Sirius Black gave it to me." Sadly though this little tidbit didn't surprise the old headmaster. "He told me that his family had been passing it along for generations and he had it. The Blacks were stuck on the idea that they'd one day get an Aura Holder." I snorted.

"Not much of a surprise. I suppose you also met with Malide?" He inquired and I nodded.

"Yeah. How did you know?" I exclaimed and the old man pointed to the translucent sapphire.

"Your sapphire." He replied simply. I raised an eyebrow and he elaborated. "That sapphire belonged to Malide. She was the first Aura Holder and by far the most powerful. When she died, she transferred her spirit into the sapphire and Mother Nature created the Aura Holder sanctuary for her. That's the reason why the light sapphire was hidden from existence."

That makes sense actually. Well... sort of. I mean, if it belonged to the most powerful Aura Holder ever then wouldn't it also be one of the strongest?

"Oh." I murmured. Looking up, I noticed how oddly he was staring at me. "Professor Dumbledore, Sir, do you know why she looked almost exactly like me?" I asked and he frowned slightly. Well, as close as his face came to a frown. The edges of his smile faltered slightly and drooped.

"My dear that is something I am unable to answer you. When the time is right that answer will reveal itself to you." He said cryptically and I groaned again. This is exactly what I feared would happen.

I racked my brain for more questions. I knew I had hundreds, but some were way more important than others.

"What happened with Sirius?" My voice was quiet and trembling slightly. The worst thing that could happen would be Sirius receiving the dementors kiss and if he ended up getting caught that's _exactly _what they'd do to him.

"The only reason I won't answer that for you is because I know Harry and Hermione would both be able to explain it better." He winked. "But, there is something that I must ask you right now." I raised an eyebrow. "Harry informed me of some rather interesting news. He told me that when you went into your Aura State that you changed appearance as well. Your hair grew and your clothing changed. When he described to me what you looked like he said your hair grew to mid-thigh, that your clothes changed into a long Greek Goddess styled dress and that all of your tattoos were more apparent." I gasp loudly.

That's exactly what Malide looked like! Clothing and all.

"W-when I saw Malide, that's exactly what _she _looked like!" I gasped and he nodded.

"I expected as much. I may not be able to reveal them too you, but that merely re-enforces my theory." He murmured wisely and I bit my lip, holding in another and particularly loud groan.

I gave a small nod. If he doesn't tell me his theory eventually I will lose my mind.

"Sir, I just have one more question." I said and he nodded. "What exactly is my Aura State?"

He sighed and I knew I'd asked a rather difficult question.

"You see, your Aura State is rather tough to explain. When Mother Nature feels your health is being threatened she forces your body into the Aura State. All of your powers are increased substantially. Since Malide's spirit is sealed in your sapphire I think part of it became embedded inside of you when you bonded with the sapphire." He sighed.

That explains why I changed physically to look like her, but not why I do in the first place. My hair wasn't actually as long as hers. At the moment it only reached my mid-back but I plan on growing it out to my waist.

"So, you're saying that her soul is like, a part of me?" I asked and he nodded. "What does that mean for me?"

"Alas, another thing I just cannot tell you." He sighed.

Great! My head is going to explode from unanswered questions.

"To be honest those are all my questioned." I admitted.

"You should know, you're going to be living with the Dursleys over summer. They're Harry's legal guardians. I hope you don't mind." He smiled knowingly and I felt a blush crawling up my neck and onto my cheeks. Hastily I looked down at my hands, folding them and tracing the visible part of my tattoos.

Are we really that obvious?

"No, not at all." I mumbled and he laughed.

"There is one more thing I should tell you." He said and I looked back up at him. "To release the seal of the sapphire, all you have to do is say _release. _Under no circumstances though are you to release your powers over the summer holidays. The Ministry may cut you some slack, but you'd still be in a lot of trouble. I know how the Dursleys are, and no matter what happens you are not to release your powers. If she feels you are in danger Malide will release them for you." He warned me.

"Crystal clear Sir." I smirked and gave him a mock salute which he returned before pushing his chair back and marching out the door like a military soldier would.

...*******...

After half an hour of debating I finally managed to get Madame Pomfrey to ease up and let me out of the hospital wing.

As fast as my legs would carry me I sprinted across the grounds, where I spotted Harry walking around with Ron and Hermione.

"Harry!" I shouted as I tackled my boyfriend to the ground in a hug.

He cried out in surprise as we crashed to the ground with me on top of him.

"Wha?" He mumbled, looking up at me before grinning from ear to ear. "Mia! I didn't expect Madame Pomfrey to let you out already."

I laughed and rolled off him, staring up at the clear blue sky.

A warm breeze passed over us making my blond hair dance and flutter around me. I smiled softly as Harry laid down next to me, reaching out and catching my hand in his own warm one. I don't know how I survived without him.

"Dumbledore just told me something that I think's pretty exciting." I smirked and he turned his head, his piercing green eyes looking into mine.

"What might that be?" He murmured, absentmindedly twirling a stray strand of my hair.

"He told me that I'm going to stay with you during summer from now on." I replied and he stiffened beside me. "Is that a bad thing?"

He shook his head and frowned.

"It just makes me worried is all. They wouldn't exactly win aunt and uncle of the year." He muttered.

"I can take care of myself." I scoffed and his frown deepened. I could tell what he meant, but again, I could take care of myself. I'd lived my entire life with a dad who was _far worse_ than his aunt and uncle could ever be.

"I just don't know if I can protect you from them." He sighed and I glanced over at him again.

My face softened instantly from its frown and I squeezed his hand.

"Harry, I don't need you to protect me, no matter how sweet that is." I giggled and he kissed my hand lightly.

"I know, but I'm still allowed to be protective of you." He smirked and I rolled my eyes, sitting up and shaking grass out of my hair. "I mean, if I wasn't who knows what would happen to you."

I glared at him playfully and punched his arm.

"Like I said, I can take perfectly good care of myself!" I exclaimed.

He just rolled his eyes, watching as the fluffy white clouds rolled by one by one. I couldn't help but smile.

"Harry, can you explain what happened, you know, with Sirius?" I asked softly and he nodded before launching into an adventurous recount of everything that happened.

It took half an hour, but really explained a lot. Why I saw Hermione, why Remus ran off and how Harry knew what happened to me.

"... and then we took Buckbeak to him and broke him out. He flew off somewhere east I think where the Ministry won't chase him." He finished and I exhaled deeply. I didn't noticed that I'd been holding my breath or a lot of it.

"Whoa." I breathed out, sitting up beside Harry. He gave a small nod before staring at the far away lake, avoiding my gaze. "Honestly Harry, I know you want to ask so go ahead." I muttered after reading his thoughts. I already knew what he wanted to ask me.

"What did your Father say to you?"

"He explained how he'd been under the Imperius Curse. I knew he wasn't lying. When he broke free for those few minutes, he looked happy. I'd never seen him happy before. Not once in my entire damned life." I sighed. "He also told me that I had a 15 or 16 year old brother named Marcus and that if he ever threatened my life, that I was to kill him without hesitating."

Harry really didn't have any way to respond to that. So, we just sat there, wasting the day away in silence.

...*******...

"And Wood catches the quaffle! Incredible save by the Gryffindor captain!" Lee Jordan, Fred and George's friend exclaimed.

Wood zoomed through the air throwing the quaffle to Angelina who shot off like a bullet. She flew off across the pitch and tossed it to Katie.

"Bell flies through the pitch at high speed and she shoots... She scores! Another point for Gryffindor! The score is now 80 - 20 Gryffindor!" Lee smirked smugly, giving the Slytherin captain Marcus Flint the bird as he passed by.

The crowd erupted in cheers - except for Slytherin who booed obnoxiously - and Marcus flipped him off as well.

"Jordan!" McGonagall screamed in disbelief and attempted to wrestle away the enchanted microphone from the overly excited fifth year.

"Sorry Professor, I swear it won't happen again!" He laughed and McGonagall grudgingly thrusted it back into his hands.

Suddenly I saw Harry's eye catch something. A small golden ball whizzed past his head and he began madly clawing at the air in an attempt to catch it.

"Wait, look at this! Gryffindor seeker Harry Potter caught sight of the golden snitch and is not trying like mad to snatch it from the air!" Lee shouted, jumping up from his chair and leaning against the cold glass.

I jumped up from my seats in the stands as Harry went into a steep dive, reaching out for the snitch. It was so close!

"Come on Harry!" I screamed, leaning over the side of the stands as he plummeted closer and closer to the ground. I began clutching the railings so tightly that my knuckles quickly turned white.

My eyes widened as he was feet away from the ground.

_**Crash!**_

He smashed into the ground, unable to pull up in time. I screamed and bolted out of the stands to his side where he was smiling.

"What the hell are you smiling for?" I demanded. I really hope he didn't hit his head so hard he went loony.

Then, he lifted his fist and revealed a small glint of gold.

"Potter has the snitch! Potter has the snitch! Gryffindor wins with a massive 210 point lead!" Lee screamed and I helped Harry up off the ground and crashed my lips into his.

It was like fireworks exploded.

I pulled apart for air and saw everybody staring at us and some of the older students were whistling. I blushed a deep crimson and Harry grabbed my hand and dragged me away and into the common room.

...*******...

"I can't believe another school years gone." Hermione murmured, shaking her head. We were on the train, on our way back to King's Cross.

I nodded sadly.

"My first year at Hogwarts. My first year of freedom." I sighed and ran a hand through my hair.

"Yeah. Hey, Mia, what did your dad say to you that night?" Ron asked, glancing up at me.

I closed up the book in my hands and met his gaze. I knew they'd ask really.

"He just told me that he was sorry about everything that happened. That he was under the Impirius curse and that if he ever threatened my life that I was to kill him without hesitation." I replied, then bit my bottom lip. "He also... said that I have a brother named Marcus that's two years older than me." I added on.

"Do you want to try and find him?" Harry asked me curiously.

"Of course. He probably doesn't know anything about this." I sighed and grabbed my sketch book this time.

With my usual soft and slow strokes I began sketching out the scene before me. Hermione, Ron and Harry all playing Exploding Snap. Smiling, laughing and belonging.

I was going to miss that the most about Hogwarts. I felt I belonged.

Harry noticed I was sketching but let me finish before ripping the book from my grasp and inspecting it.

He cracked a smile and tossed it to Ron who hadn't noticed the entire time.

"You're getting too good at this." Ron muttered and handed it to Hermione who laughed and gave me a tight hug. I felt tears burning in my eyes, but I couldn't figure out why.

I wasn't sad. Not one bit. If anything I was happier than I'd been in a long time. With my friends, my two best friends and my boyfriend. More than I could have ever asked for. More than I would have ever even dreamed of.

Even Ron pulled me into a tight embrace.

"Why are you crying?" Harry laughed and I shook my head and wiped away the warm tears.

"Not a clue." I laughed as Hermione and Ron both snorted. "I'm just really happy right now. I haven't felt this good in months."

I dug through my bag for my wand and pulled it out, making copies of the picture for Ron and Hermione. I handed Harry the original copy and he carefully pulled it out of the large book and slipped it into his bag.

After flipping my book open again I slowly leafed through the pages, vaguely aware of Harry's gaze on my. Finally, I just gave up.

"Why are you staring at me Harry?" I laughed, taking note of his unusually large goofy grin.

"I miss your smile." He replied and I giggled, leaning my head on his shoulder.

"That is probably the corniest _and _the sweetest thing you've ever said to me." I snorted and he blushed slightly.

Ron and Hermione both rolled their eyes at us before Ron perked up, looking at both of us eagerly.

"Well, we can at least look forward to the World Cup!" He exclaimed, referring to the Quidditch World Cup.

Since his dad worked at the Ministry he was able to get us free tickets, and good seats too.

"If Harry's stupid aunt and uncle let us go." I muttered and Harry rolled his eyes.

From what Harry's told me we probably won't actually go. I really hope we do, honestly, but from what I've heard of them we have no shot.

"He better! Mum and dad hate the way they treat you." Ron sighed and I nodded. From what I heard they were abusive both emotionally and physically. They may not be as bad as my Father but this will _not _be a pleasant summer for the most part.

Suddenly the train jerked to a halt and I was thrown forward, landing directly on Harry's lap.

We both blushed and I hopped off, subconsciously fingering the bracelet he, Ron and Hermione gave me for Christmas.

It was the first real gift I'd ever received.

I gathered up all my stuff and hauled it out of the compartment, making my way through the large crowd of students with Harry, Hermione and Ron right behind me.

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley rushed over and smothered Ron in a shower of hugs and large kisses - mainly from Mrs. Weasley - before turning to us. Mrs. Weasley gave me a tight hug and I smiled.

I opened my mouth to say something but a deep voice startled me.

"Come on freaks, we need to leave." The voice grunted and I spun around. The voice belonged to a very porky man that had an equally porky, if not more so, boy who looked to be around my age. And on his other side was an uptight looking horse-faced woman.

Harry shot me a look and grabbed my hand, waving goodbye to Hermione, Ron, Mr. Weasley and Mrs. Weasley.

_*Welcome to the hell I call home.*_

...*******...

A/N:

:OMG! IT'S DONE! DONE DONE DONE DONE DONE T.T

So sad, but hey, the next book should be coming out soon. By soon I mean the first chapter is hopefully going to be out for this Saturday the 24th - i think - and im looking forward to it!

Just saying, I plan to keep Harry as the one doing the Triwizard Tournament. I find that taking him out of that only ruins it.

And, yes, the brother is coming in the next book. Where she meets him i shall not tell though ;D

If any of you are curious.

Also, im sorry its such a short chapter to end the book. Rlly bad on my part, but, hey. CANT BLAME MEE! =D

Lawl.

Uh, xD please make sure you read on. Well I hope u read on. Thanks to all my dedicated fans for sticking with me through it all. U guys r the greatest!

THANKS U SOOOOO MUCH 3

Rose xx


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